Difference between revisions of "Sega of America"

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{{Company
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{{otherPage|desc=the company that traded as Sega of America between 1974 and 1984|page=Sega Enterprises, Inc.}}
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{{CompanyBob
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| width=
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| logo=Sega logo International R.svg
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| founded=1985?
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| founded=1986-03-10<ref>California Business Search: Entity [https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/CBS/SearchResults?filing=&SearchType=NUMBER&SearchCriteria=C1299989 #C1299989]</ref>{{magref|sv|11|81}} | defunct=
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| defunct=
 
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| tseries=
 
 
| mergedwith=
 
| mergedwith=
 
| mergedinto=
 
| mergedinto=
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| headquarters=
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| headquartersdate=1986
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| headquarters=2149 Paragon Drive, San Jose, California 95131, United States
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| headquartersdate2=1986
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| headquarters2=573 Forbes Blvd., So. San Francisco, California, 94080, United States{{fileref|SummerCES1991 Directory.pdf|page=269}}
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| headquarters3=255 Shoreline Drive, [[wikipedia:Redwood City, California|Redwood City]], California 94065, United States
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| headquarters4=650 Townsend Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, California, 94103, United States{{fileref|E32001 Directory.pdf|page=103}}
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| headquartersdate5=2015
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| headquarters5=6400 Oak Canyon, Suite 100, [[wikipedia:Irvine, California|Irvine]], California 92618, United States
 
}}
 
}}
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{{sub-stub}}'''Sega of America''' ('''SoA''') is the company responsible for [[Sega]]'s North American (i.e. the United States, Canada and Mexico) operations.
+
{{stub}}'''Sega of America, Inc.''' is the American branch of video game developer [[Sega]].
 +
 
 +
==History==
 +
===Pre-1986===
 +
[[File:SoA employees.png|thumb|right|280px|An group photograph of Sega of America's employees, taken during its early years.]]
 +
Sega has technically had a presence in the United States ever since its [[History of Sega|1946 inception]] as an American entity, but it was it’s later Japanese incarnation [[Sega Enterprises, Ltd.]] that would grow to see actual success. Acquired by [[Gulf+Western]] in 1969, the purchase allowed the company to expand into the American market in 1974 with the establishment of [[Sega Enterprises, Inc.]] in [[wiki:Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]]. Initially importing Japanese games while producing games of their own (and even a [[Sega-Vision|consumer television]]), this American branch also traded under the name “Sega of America” for the next decade.
  
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SoA is largely considered to be Sega's second base of operations, following [[Sega of Japan]] which ultimately makes the final decisions. Sega of America was Sega's second attempt at cracking the US market - its first, a company known as "Sega Enterprises, Inc." had previously make traction in the region in the late 1970s and early 1980s, only to have much of its assets sold to Paramount in the wake of the North American video game crash of 1983. Sega subsequently pulled back for a few months (establishing a relationship with [[Bally Midway]] for arcade and home console distribution), but re-entered the market some time later with the intent of marketing the [[Sega Master System]] to the American populace.
+
Eager to expand [[Sega]]’s newfound presence in the United States, the company acquired American arcade developer [[Gremlin Industries]] to become [[Gremlin/Sega]], and with the increased production capability was able to steadily establish itself in the arcades of the early 1980s. It also began to develop arcade ports for the fledgling home market, with games being released on the [[Atari VCS]], home computers, and other platforms. Renaming itself [[Sega Electronics]] in 1982, the division continued to produce games up until its assets were purchased by arcade manufacturer [[Bally Midway]] the next year.
  
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Since the mid-1980s, Sega of America's primary role has been to localise Japanese games for English-speaking regions. It was established relatively early on that an American presence was needed for Sega as the Japanese executives did not understand the American market well enough, although differences in opinion and mismanagement between the two "sides" led to much friction during the 1990s, with some believing this ultimately led to Sega's pull-out of the console hardware market in 2001.
+
Later seeking to rejoin the American market, [[Sega Enterprises, Ltd.]] would established two new American subsidiaries: [[Sega Enterprises, Inc.]]<ref name="cbse"/> on March 21, 1985 to again distribute its arcade games in the West, and '''Sega of America, Inc.''' on March 10, 1986<ref>California Business Search: Entity [https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/CBS/SearchResults?filing=&SearchType=NUMBER&SearchCriteria=C1299989 #C1299989]</ref>{{magref|sv|11|81}} to assist with consumer products like the upcoming [[Sega Master System]]. The two subsidiaries co-existed for several years and both had [[wiki:San Francisco Bay Area|San Francisco Bay Area]] offices closely nearby another.
  
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At first, Sega of America allied with [[Tonka]] for Master System distribution, though following the launch of the [[Sega Mega Drive]] (Genesis in North America), it began to play a much more significant role in the industry. Sega of America's efforts greatly influenced the video game industry as we know it today (for example, it created the [[VRC]] ratings board, which led to first industry-wide system, the [[ESRB]])
+
===Tonka and the Master System===
 +
In late 1987 '''Sega of America''' partnered with [[Tonka]] to market and distribute their recently-launched (and poor selling) [[Sega Master System]]. Tonka’s knowledge of the American toy market was seen as highly valuable, and the joint venture exceeded expectations in turning around ailing Master System sales. While Sega of America choose not to continue this partnership, the experience it gained in the home console market would prove indespensable.
  
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For many years it was believed that America could not produce video games to Japanese standards - SoA's first home-grown game, ''[[Monopoly]]'' needed to be "saved" from poor quality production and impending delays in 1988, and this trend often continued, with SoA adopting a policy of quantity over quality (attempting to develop and publish significantly more games than rivals [[Nintendo]] to give the impression that Sega systems were backed by more developers, and were hence seen as superior). It began to create hardware (such as the [[Sega 32X]]), and later branched out into other areas through the likes of [[SegaSoft]], only to be reeled back in by Japan towards the end of the 90s and greatly reduced in size (and power).
+
At this time, the American branch served mainly as a channel for bringing games to the West, and as a result Sega’s first home console saw little third-party support. Although sporting a library of quality Sega-produced titles, the console was unable to effectively establish itself in a market dominated by the wildly-popular [[wiki:Nintendo Entertainment System|Nintendo Entertainment System]]. Nearing the launch of what was now [[Sega of Japan]]’s upcoming [[Sega Mega Drive|16-bit machine]], American executives identified what they believed to be holding the company back, and what changes would be necessary, for eventually taking on Nintendo’s monopoly of the home market. Above all however, it was felt that the American market needed games tailored for American tastes; a philosophy would be at the heart of much of Sega of America’s methodology. Instead of waiting for the production of Japanese software, only to have to further localize them, Sega of America could establish in-house game development and produce software domestically.  
  
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Today, like [[Sega Europe]], Sega of America primarily exists to assist in localisation and deal with public relations, with the majority of actual development being done in Japan (or by external companies). At its peak in the early 1990s, SoA developed games through small internal studios, [[Sega Technical Institute]] and via various "second party" companies such as [[BlueSky Software]] and [[Western Technologies]]. It is responsible for franchsies such ''[[Ecco the Dolphin]]'' and ''[[Eternal Champions]]'', and invested significant amounts of funds into sports games (often released under the [[Sega Sports]] banner). Relationships were also very close to [[Electronic Arts]].  
+
[[File:SegaofAmerica ProductDevelopmentTeam 3.png|thumb|left|280px|Sega's [[Product Development Team]] ensured the launch of the [[Genesis]] would be strong enough to challenge [[Nintendo]]'s monopoly.]]
 +
While the company prepared for the release of the [[Sega Genesis]], newly-hired Director of Product Development [[Ken Balthaser]] realized many of these domestic productions would not be ready by the system’s launch. It was decided that Sega of America would contract third-party developers in the United States and Europe to ensure the Genesis launched with games tailored to American tastes. Externally-developed games would be supervised by a Sega of America producer who would coordinate between the two companies, with games often being conceptualized and seen to completion by the same producer.
  
 +
A strong showing of quality sports games was also deemed as crucial to breaking through to the Western market, and together with the upcoming machine being leagues above what the Nintendo Entertainment System could currently provide, Sega of America was finally ready to introduce North America to the next generation. And it needed to show consumers that a geared-up competitor had finally arrived; one that could dethrone Nintendo.
 
{{clear}}
 
{{clear}}
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{{SegaCorp}}
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===Genesis Does===
 +
The 1989 launch of the North American [[Sega Genesis]] was overwhelmingly successful. While supported by a quality game library of foreign and domestic games (some featuring something novel - celebrity endorsements), the Genesis most strongly banked on its clever marketing to demonstrate the machine’s superiority over the existing [[wiki:Nintendo Entertainment System|Nintendo Entertainment System]]. Most notable was the 1990 ad campaign [[Genesis Does]]. Created by advertising agency Bozell, it was an instant hit with both Sega executives and the American public. With a tagline of “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t”, the campaign produced a stunning commercial featuring numerous celebrities, shots of colorful games, and a catchy accompanying song featuring the line “You can’t do this on Nintendo.” Many began to see Sega as not just the first real competitor to Nintendo, but as the next step entirely.
 +
 
 +
Suddenly, Sega of America had created a corporate image for themselves, but one framed by Nintendo: Sega was the cool, cutting-edge company that makes games for cool older American kids, and Nintendo was the safe, slow rival. With the arrival of Sonic the Hedgehog, the continued success of the [[Sega Genesis]] against the Nintendo juggernaut was all but assured, and while this corporate image would grow less appealing as more forced attitude was used, it showed that Sega was willing to focus everything in its power to show it was the true “anti-Nintendo.”
 +
 
 +
Sega of America would later establish the [[Videogame Rating Council]] rating system for its games in the summer of 1993. Created in response to [[Mortal Kombat]]’s Sega Genesis release to further differentiate mature themes in its games, the system would directly influence the design of the industry-wide [[wikipedia:Entertainment Software Rating Board|Entertainment Software Rating Board]] created the following year.
 +
 
 +
===32-bit era===
 +
The [[Sega 32X|Sega Super 32X]] was originally designed as a standalone console to replace the [[Sega Mega Drive]]. In Japan, that platform was not as popular as had been hoped, and a more-modern but still backward-compatible system seemed more feasible. In the United States however, the [[Sega Genesis]] had a significant market share and was already installed in millions of American homes. Sega of America reasoned that to ask those consumers to replace their systems entirely was unfeasible, and the end result of these discussions was the [[Sega 32X|Sega Super 32X]]’s redesign as a peripherial for existing [[Sega Mega Drive]] hardware.
 +
 
 +
Struggles selling the [[Sega Saturn]] in North America led to a scaling back of internal production and consolidation of many of Sega of America’s development teams.
 +
 
 +
===Post-2001===
 +
Beginning in 2005, Sega of America underwent a string of wide restructurings. Sister company [[Sega Enterprises, Inc.]] merged with the company on April 1, 2008<ref name="cbse"/>. The resulting company retained the name Sega of America.
 +
 
 +
After a 2015 evaluation of the company’s future, it saw further downsizing, and relocated from its [[wikipedia:San Francisco, California|San Francisco, California]] office to one in [[wikipedia:Irvine, California|Irvine, California]]. Now sharing offices with the [[Sega]]-owned [[Atlus USA]], both companies are primarily focused on localization and licensing.
 +
 
 +
An additional office dedicated to handling the [[sonic:Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic the Hedgehog]] franchise exists in [[wikipedia:Burbank, California|Burbank, California]]. The office, and its team, go by the title [[Sonic Studio]].
  
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[[Category:Sega]]
+
==Softography==
 +
{{CompanyHistoryAll|Sega of America}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[Master System]] ===
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[Joe Montana Football]]'' (1990)
 +
* ''[[Ariel the Little Mermaid]]'' (1992)
 +
* ''[[California Games II]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Ecco the Dolphin]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Home Alone]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Sonic Spinball]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Ecco: The Tides of Time]]'' (1994)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[Mega Drive]] ===
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[ToeJam & Earl]]'' (1991)
 +
* ''[[Ariel the Little Mermaid]]'' (1992)
 +
* ''[[Toxic Crusaders]]'' (1992)
 +
* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun]]'' (1992)
 +
* ''[[Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude]]'' (1992)
 +
* ''[[Kid Chameleon]]'' (1992)
 +
* ''[[Menacer 6-Game Cartridge]]'' (1992)
 +
* ''[[TaleSpin]]'' (1992)
 +
* ''[[Barney's Hide & Seek Game]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Cyborg Justice]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Dinosaurs for Hire]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Eternal Champions]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[NFL Football '94 Starring Joe Montana]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Richard Scarry's Busytown]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Sonic Spinball]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[The Berenstain Bears' Camping Adventure]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[X-Men]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Bonkers]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[College Football's National Championship]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Ecco: The Tides of Time]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Shadowrun]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Taz in Escape From Mars]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Wacky Worlds]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[World Series Baseball]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[College Football's National Championship|College Football's National Championship II]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Comix Zone]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Ecco Jr.]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Striker (Mega Drive)|Striker]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[The Adventures of Batman & Robin]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[The Magic School Bus]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Vectorman]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[World Series Baseball '95]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[X-Men 2: Clone Wars]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Vectorman 2]]'' (1996)
 +
* ''[[The Lost World: Jurassic Park]]'' (1997)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[Game Gear]] ===
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[Joe Montana Football]]'' (1991)
 +
* ''[[Ariel the Little Mermaid]]'' (1992)
 +
* ''[[California Games II]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Ecco the Dolphin]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Home Alone]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Sonic Spinball]]'' (1993)
 +
* ''[[Ecco: The Tides of Time]]'' (1994)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[Sega CD]] ===
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[Ecco the Dolphin]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Ecco: The Tides of Time]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Wild Woody]]'' (1995)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
===[[Sega Pico|Pico]]===
 +
*''[[A Year at Pooh Corner]]'' (1994)
 +
*''[[Mickey's Blast into the Past]]'' (1994)
 +
*''[[Ecco Jr. and the Great Ocean Treasure Hunt!]]'' (1994)
 +
*''[[Tails and the Music Maker]]'' (1994)
 +
*''[[Smart Alex and Smart Alice: Curious Kids]]'' (1995)
 +
*''[[Crayola Crayons: Create a World]]'' (1995)
 +
*''[[Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Going Places]]'' (1995)
 +
*''[[Storyware Sampler]]'' (1996)
 +
*''[[Math Antics with Disney's 101 Dalmatians]]'' (1996)
 +
 
 +
=== [[Sega 32X]] ===
 +
* ''[[After Burner II]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Cosmic Carnage]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Metal Head]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Motocross Championship]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Primal Rage]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Space Harrier]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Star Wars Arcade]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Virtua Racing Deluxe]]'' (1994)
 +
* ''[[Golf Magazine: 36 Great Holes Starring Fred Couples]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Kolibri]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Knuckles' Chaotix]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Shadow Squadron]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[T-MEK]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[World Series Baseball starring Deion Sanders]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Virtua Fighter]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Spider-Man: Web of Fire]]'' (1996)
 +
* ''[[Virtua Hamster]]'' (Unreleased)
 +
 
 +
=== [[Sega Saturn]] ===
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[Bug!]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[NHL All-Star Hockey]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Die Hard Arcade]]'' (1996)
 +
* ''[[Three Dirty Dwarves]]'' (1996)
 +
* ''[[Mr. Bones]]'' (1996)
 +
* ''[[NBA Action]]'' (1996)
 +
* ''[[Bug Too!]]'' (1997)
 +
* ''[[Manx TT Super Bike]]'' (1997)
 +
* ''[[NFL '97]]'' (1997)
 +
* ''[[Scud: The Disposable Assassin]]'' (1997)
 +
* ''[[Sky Target]]'' (1997)
 +
* ''[[The Lost World: Jurassic Park]]'' (1997)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[Dreamcast]] ===
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[NBA 2K]]'' (1999)
 +
* ''[[NFL 2K]]'' (1999)
 +
* ''[[Metropolis Street Racer]]'' (2000)
 +
* ''[[NBA 2K1]]'' (2000)
 +
* ''[[NFL 2K1]]'' (2000)
 +
* ''[[Floigan Bros. Episode 1]]'' (2001)
 +
* ''[[Headhunter]]'' (2001)
 +
* ''[[NBA 2K2]]'' (2001)
 +
* ''[[NCAA College Football 2K2]]'' (2001)
 +
* ''[[NFL 2K2]]'' (2001)
 +
* ''[[Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future]]'' (2001)
 +
* ''[[Ooga Booga]]'' (2001)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
===[[PlayStation 2]] ===
 +
 
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future]]'' (2001)
 +
* ''[[NFL 2K2]]'' (2001)
 +
* ''[[NBA 2K2]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[NBA 2K3]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[NCAA College Basketball 2K3]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[NFL 2K3]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[Sega Soccer Slam]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[World Series Baseball 2K3]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[ESPN College Hoops]]'' (2003)
 +
* ''[[ESPN NFL Football]]'' (2003)
 +
* ''[[NBA 2K]]'' (2003)
 +
* ''[[ESPN College Hoops 2K5]]'' (2004)
 +
* ''[[ESPN Major League Baseball]]'' (2004)
 +
* ''[[ESPN NBA 2K5]]'' (2004)
 +
* ''[[ESPN NFL 2K5]]'' (2004)
 +
* ''[[Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku]]'' (2004)
 +
* ''[[Sega Genesis Collection]]'' (2006)
 +
* ''[[The Golden Compass]]'' (2007)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[GameBoy Advance]] ===
 +
 
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[Phantasy Star Collection]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[Super Monkey Ball]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[The Revenge of Shinobi (Game Boy Advance)]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride]]'' (2003)
 +
* ''[[Jet Set Radio (Game Boy Advance)]]'' (2003)
 +
* ''[[Charlotte's Web]]'' (2006)
 +
* ''[[Sonic Genesis]]'' (2006)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[Xbox]] ===
 +
 
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[World Series Baseball 2K2]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[NBA 2K2]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[NBA 2K3]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[NCAA College Basketball 2K3]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[NFL 2K2]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[NFL 2K3]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[Sega Soccer Slam]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[ESPN College Hoops]]'' (2003)
 +
* ''[[ESPN NFL Football]]'' (2003)
 +
* ''[[NBA 2K|ESPN NBA Basketball]]'' (2003)
 +
* ''[[ESPN College Hoops 2K5]]'' (2004)
 +
* ''[[ESPN Major League Baseball]]'' (2004)
 +
* ''[[ESPN NBA 2K5]]'' (2004)
 +
* ''[[ESPN NFL 2K5]]'' (2004)
 +
* ''[[Spartan: Total Warrior]]'' (2005)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[GameCube]] ===
 +
 
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[NBA 2K2]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[NBA 2K3]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[NCAA College Basketball 2K3]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[NFL 2K3]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[Sega Soccer Slam]]'' (2002)
 +
* ''[[Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku]]'' (2004)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[Nintendo DS]] ===
 +
 
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[Sega Casino]]'' (2005)
 +
* ''[[Charlotte's Web]]'' (2006)
 +
* ''[[The Golden Compass]]'' (2007)
 +
* ''[[Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[The Incredible Hulk]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[Aliens: Infestation]]'' (2011)
 +
* ''[[Captain America: Super Soldier]]'' (2011)
 +
* ''[[Thor: God of Thunder]]'' (2011)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[PlayStation Portable]] ===
 +
 
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[Sonic Rivals]]'' (2006)
 +
* ''[[After Burner: Black Falcon]]'' (2007)
 +
* ''[[Alien Syndrome (2007)|Alien Syndrome]]'' (2007)
 +
* ''[[Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars]]'' (2007)
 +
* ''[[Sega Genesis Collection]]'' (2006)
 +
* ''[[Sonic Rivals 2]]'' (2007)
 +
* ''[[The Golden Compass]]'' (2007)
 +
*''[[Full Auto 2: Battlelines]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[Iron Man 2]]'' (2010)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[Xbox 360]] ===
 +
 
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[Condemned: Criminal Origins]]'' (2005)
 +
* ''[[Full Auto]]'' (2006)
 +
* ''[[The Golden Compass]]'' (2007)
 +
* ''[[Condemned 2: Bloodshot]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[Golden Axe: Beast Rider]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[Iron Man]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[The Incredible Hulk]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[Universe at War: Earth Assault]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection]]'' (2009)
 +
* ''[[Aliens vs. Predator]]'' (2010)
 +
* ''[[Alpha Protocol]]'' (2010)
 +
* ''[[Iron Man 2]]'' (2010)
 +
* ''[[Captain America: Super Soldier]]'' (2011)
 +
* ''[[Thor: God of Thunder]]'' (2011)
 +
* ''[[Aliens: Colonial Marines]]'' (2013)
 +
* ''[[The Cave]]'' (2013)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[Wii]] ===
 +
 
 +
{{multicol|
 +
*''[[Alien Syndrome (2007)|Alien Syndrome]] (2007)''
 +
*''[[The Golden Compass]] (2007)''
 +
*''[[The Incredible Hulk]] (2008)''
 +
*''[[Samba de Amigo]] (2008)''
 +
*''[[The Conduit]] (2009)''
 +
*''[[Iron Man 2]] (2010)''
 +
*''[[Tournament of Legends]] (2010)''
 +
*''[[Captain America: Super Soldier]] (2011)''
 +
*''[[Conduit 2]] (2011)''
 +
*''[[Thor: God of Thunder]] (2011)''
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
=== [[PlayStation 3]] ===
 +
 
 +
* ''[[Condemned: Criminal Origins]]'' (2005)
 +
* ''[[Full Auto]]'' (2006)
 +
* ''[[The Golden Compass]]'' (2007)
 +
* ''[[Condemned 2: Bloodshot]]'' (2008)
 +
 
 +
=== [[Nintendo 3DS]] ===
 +
 
 +
* ''[[Captain America: Super Soldier]]'' (2011)
 +
* ''[[Thor: God of Thunder]]'' (2011)
 +
* ''[[Shinobi 3D]]'' (2012)
 +
* ''[[Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal]]'' (2014)
 +
* ''[[Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice]]'' (2014)
 +
 
 +
=== [[Wii U]] ===
 +
 
 +
* ''[[The Cave]]'' (2013)
 +
* ''[[Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric]]'' (2014)
 +
 
 +
=== [[Xbox One]] ===
 +
 
 +
* ''[[Sonic Mania]]'' (2017)
 +
 
 +
=== [[PlayStation 4]] ===
 +
 
 +
* ''[[Sonic Mania]]'' (2017)
 +
 
 +
=== [[Nintendo Switch]] ===
 +
 
 +
* ''[[Sonic Mania]]'' (2017)
 +
 
 +
=== [[PC]] ===
 +
 
 +
{{multicol|
 +
* ''[[Tomcat Alley]]'' (1995)
 +
* ''[[Rocket Jockey]]'' (1996)
 +
* ''[[Obsidian]]'' (1996)
 +
* ''[[Three Dirty Dwarves]]'' (1996)
 +
* ''[[Emperor of Fading Suns]]'' (1997)
 +
* ''[[Grossology]]'' (1997)
 +
* ''[[Lose Your Marbles]]'' (1997)
 +
* ''[[Scud: Industrial Evolution]]'' (1997)
 +
* ''[[The Space Bar]]'' (1997)
 +
* ''[[Fatal Abyss]]'' (1998)
 +
* ''[[Flesh Feast]]'' (1998)
 +
* ''[[Net Fighter]]'' (1998)
 +
* ''[[Plane Crazy]]'' (1998)
 +
* ''[[Relativity]]''(1998)
 +
* ''[[Sega Smash Pack (PC)]]'' (1999)
 +
* ''[[Vigilance]]'' (1998)
 +
* ''[[Sega Swirl]]'' (2000)
 +
* ''[[The Matrix Online]]'' (2005)
 +
* ''[[Charlotte's Web]]'' (2006)
 +
* ''[[Condemned]]'' (2006)
 +
* ''[[The Golden Compass]]'' (2009)
 +
* ''[[Iron Man]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[Space Siege]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[The Incredible Hulk]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[Universe at War: Earth Assault]]'' (2008)
 +
* ''[[Alpha Protocol]]'' (2010)
 +
* ''[[MLB Manager Online]]'' (2011)
 +
* ''[[Spiral Knights]]'' (2011)
 +
* ''[[Aliens: Colonial Marines]]'' (2013)
 +
* ''[[Godsrule: War of Mortals]]'' (2013)
 +
* ''[[Sonic Mania]]'' (2017)
 +
|cols=2}}
 +
 
 +
==Photo gallery==
 +
<gallery>
 +
SoA devs sportsgame.png
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
==External links==
 +
*[http://www.sega.com Official Website]
 +
 
 +
==References==
 +
<references />
 +
 
 +
{{clear}}
 +
{{SegaOverseas}}

Latest revision as of 04:39, 8 November 2023

For the company that traded as Sega of America between 1974 and 1984, see Sega Enterprises, Inc..

https://segaretro.org/images/7/76/Sega_logo_International_R.svg

Sega logo International R.svg
Sega of America
Founded: 1986-03-10[1][2]
Headquarters:
1986:  2149 Paragon Drive, San Jose, California 95131, United States
1986:  573 Forbes Blvd., So. San Francisco, California, 94080, United States[3]
255 Shoreline Drive, Redwood City, California 94065, United States
650 Townsend Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, California, 94103, United States[4]
2015:  6400 Oak Canyon, Suite 100, Irvine, California 92618, United States

This short article is in need of work. You can help Sega Retro by adding to it.

Sega of America, Inc. is the American branch of video game developer Sega.

History

Pre-1986

An group photograph of Sega of America's employees, taken during its early years.

Sega has technically had a presence in the United States ever since its 1946 inception as an American entity, but it was it’s later Japanese incarnation Sega Enterprises, Ltd. that would grow to see actual success. Acquired by Gulf+Western in 1969, the purchase allowed the company to expand into the American market in 1974 with the establishment of Sega Enterprises, Inc. in Los Angeles, California. Initially importing Japanese games while producing games of their own (and even a consumer television), this American branch also traded under the name “Sega of America” for the next decade.

Eager to expand Sega’s newfound presence in the United States, the company acquired American arcade developer Gremlin Industries to become Gremlin/Sega, and with the increased production capability was able to steadily establish itself in the arcades of the early 1980s. It also began to develop arcade ports for the fledgling home market, with games being released on the Atari VCS, home computers, and other platforms. Renaming itself Sega Electronics in 1982, the division continued to produce games up until its assets were purchased by arcade manufacturer Bally Midway the next year.

Later seeking to rejoin the American market, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. would established two new American subsidiaries: Sega Enterprises, Inc.[5] on March 21, 1985 to again distribute its arcade games in the West, and Sega of America, Inc. on March 10, 1986[6][2] to assist with consumer products like the upcoming Sega Master System. The two subsidiaries co-existed for several years and both had San Francisco Bay Area offices closely nearby another.

Tonka and the Master System

In late 1987 Sega of America partnered with Tonka to market and distribute their recently-launched (and poor selling) Sega Master System. Tonka’s knowledge of the American toy market was seen as highly valuable, and the joint venture exceeded expectations in turning around ailing Master System sales. While Sega of America choose not to continue this partnership, the experience it gained in the home console market would prove indespensable.

At this time, the American branch served mainly as a channel for bringing games to the West, and as a result Sega’s first home console saw little third-party support. Although sporting a library of quality Sega-produced titles, the console was unable to effectively establish itself in a market dominated by the wildly-popular Nintendo Entertainment System. Nearing the launch of what was now Sega of Japan’s upcoming 16-bit machine, American executives identified what they believed to be holding the company back, and what changes would be necessary, for eventually taking on Nintendo’s monopoly of the home market. Above all however, it was felt that the American market needed games tailored for American tastes; a philosophy would be at the heart of much of Sega of America’s methodology. Instead of waiting for the production of Japanese software, only to have to further localize them, Sega of America could establish in-house game development and produce software domestically.

Sega's Product Development Team ensured the launch of the Genesis would be strong enough to challenge Nintendo's monopoly.

While the company prepared for the release of the Sega Genesis, newly-hired Director of Product Development Ken Balthaser realized many of these domestic productions would not be ready by the system’s launch. It was decided that Sega of America would contract third-party developers in the United States and Europe to ensure the Genesis launched with games tailored to American tastes. Externally-developed games would be supervised by a Sega of America producer who would coordinate between the two companies, with games often being conceptualized and seen to completion by the same producer.

A strong showing of quality sports games was also deemed as crucial to breaking through to the Western market, and together with the upcoming machine being leagues above what the Nintendo Entertainment System could currently provide, Sega of America was finally ready to introduce North America to the next generation. And it needed to show consumers that a geared-up competitor had finally arrived; one that could dethrone Nintendo.

Genesis Does

The 1989 launch of the North American Sega Genesis was overwhelmingly successful. While supported by a quality game library of foreign and domestic games (some featuring something novel - celebrity endorsements), the Genesis most strongly banked on its clever marketing to demonstrate the machine’s superiority over the existing Nintendo Entertainment System. Most notable was the 1990 ad campaign Genesis Does. Created by advertising agency Bozell, it was an instant hit with both Sega executives and the American public. With a tagline of “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t”, the campaign produced a stunning commercial featuring numerous celebrities, shots of colorful games, and a catchy accompanying song featuring the line “You can’t do this on Nintendo.” Many began to see Sega as not just the first real competitor to Nintendo, but as the next step entirely.

Suddenly, Sega of America had created a corporate image for themselves, but one framed by Nintendo: Sega was the cool, cutting-edge company that makes games for cool older American kids, and Nintendo was the safe, slow rival. With the arrival of Sonic the Hedgehog, the continued success of the Sega Genesis against the Nintendo juggernaut was all but assured, and while this corporate image would grow less appealing as more forced attitude was used, it showed that Sega was willing to focus everything in its power to show it was the true “anti-Nintendo.”

Sega of America would later establish the Videogame Rating Council rating system for its games in the summer of 1993. Created in response to Mortal Kombat’s Sega Genesis release to further differentiate mature themes in its games, the system would directly influence the design of the industry-wide Entertainment Software Rating Board created the following year.

32-bit era

The Sega Super 32X was originally designed as a standalone console to replace the Sega Mega Drive. In Japan, that platform was not as popular as had been hoped, and a more-modern but still backward-compatible system seemed more feasible. In the United States however, the Sega Genesis had a significant market share and was already installed in millions of American homes. Sega of America reasoned that to ask those consumers to replace their systems entirely was unfeasible, and the end result of these discussions was the Sega Super 32X’s redesign as a peripherial for existing Sega Mega Drive hardware.

Struggles selling the Sega Saturn in North America led to a scaling back of internal production and consolidation of many of Sega of America’s development teams.

Post-2001

Beginning in 2005, Sega of America underwent a string of wide restructurings. Sister company Sega Enterprises, Inc. merged with the company on April 1, 2008[5]. The resulting company retained the name Sega of America.

After a 2015 evaluation of the company’s future, it saw further downsizing, and relocated from its San Francisco, California office to one in Irvine, California. Now sharing offices with the Sega-owned Atlus USA, both companies are primarily focused on localization and licensing.

An additional office dedicated to handling the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise exists in Burbank, California. The office, and its team, go by the title Sonic Studio.

Softography

Discrete logic arcade

Master System

Mega Drive

Game Gear

Mega-CD

32X

Saturn

Dreamcast

IBM PC

Windows PC

Master System

Mega Drive

Game Gear

Sega CD

Pico

Sega 32X

Sega Saturn

Dreamcast

PlayStation 2

GameBoy Advance

Xbox

GameCube

Nintendo DS

PlayStation Portable

Xbox 360

Wii

PlayStation 3

Nintendo 3DS

Wii U

Xbox One

PlayStation 4

Nintendo Switch

PC

Photo gallery

  • SoA devs sportsgame.png

External links

References

  1. ↑ California Business Search: Entity #C1299989
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sega Visions, "February/March 1993" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 81
  3. ↑ Summer CES Directory, page 269
  4. ↑ E3 2001 Directory, page 103
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named cbse
  6. ↑ California Business Search: Entity #C1299989
Overseas Sega companies, studios and subsidiaries
84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
CSK Sega Sammy Holdings
Sega of America
Sega Technical Institute
Sega Away Team
Sega Europe
Sega France Sega France
Sega Consumer Products S.A Sega Spain
Sega Vertriebsgesellschaft Sega Austria
Sega Interactive
Sega Deutschland Sega Germany
Sega Amusements Taiwan Sega Taiwan
Sega Denmark
Sega Belgium
Sega Netherlands
Sega Multimedia Studio
Sega Midwest Studio
Sega Amusements USA
Deith Leisure Sega Amusements Europe Sega Amusements International
Sega Total Solutions
Sega Prize Europe
Sega Music Group
SegaSoft
Sega Entertainment
Hyundai-Sega Entertainment
Sega Enterprises Israel
No Cliche
Sega of America Dreamcast
Sonic Team USA Sega Studios USA
Visual Concepts
Sega.com
Sega.com Asia
Sega of China
Sega Mobile Sega Networks Inc.
Sega Publishing Korea
The Creative Assembly
Sega (China) Network Technology Co., Ltd
Sega Benelux
Sega Studios San Francisco
Sports Interactive
Sega Studios Australia
Three Rings Design
Relic Entertainment
Atlus USA
Demiurge Studios
Go Game
Sonic Studio
Amplitude Studios
Sonic Team USA
Retrieved from "https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=Sega_of_America&oldid=933812"