Sammy Wants Sega Concentrating on Arcades

by Steven Rodriguez - December 11, 2003, 10:06 am EST
Total comments: 6 Source: Bloomberg Japan

Sega won't stop making console games, but their new parent company wants them to do more of what they do best.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg Japan, Sammy president Hajime Satomi talked about how his company could help Sega become profitable once again.

It's no secret that Sega is and always has been very profitable in the arcade business, and has been hit or miss on the console side of things. Because of this, Sammy would like Sega to concentrate more on the coin-op side of their operations, hopefully making more money in the process.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Sega will stop making games for home systems any time soon. Sammy just wants them to pick and choose game releases more carefully instead of developing games in the fashion that they are now.

In addition, Satomi said that he will want to have a more active role in the day-to-day operations at Sega. He also hopes that Sega will make games for Sammy's own low-cost arcade hardware, the Atomiswave. It has similar hardware to Sega's own Dreamcast and Naomi arcade system.

PRESS RELEASE

Sammy Claims Majority Stake in Sega

It's about time someone got this over with.

Sammy Corporation Purchases Stake in Sega Corporation

CARLSBAD, Calif. - December 8, 2003 - Sammy Holding Company, Inc. today announced that parent company Sammy Corporation, in a continuing effort to diversify its global entertainment holdings, has acquired the shares of Sega Corporation held by CSK Corporation.

The investment gives Sammy Corp. 39,148,600 additional shares, or a majority stake of 22.4%, in Sega Corporation. The two companies have been collaborating on various projects. With this acquisition of the shares, Sammy plans to solidify its business relationship with Sega.

"Sammy is a strong company financially and is looking to pursue strategic investment opportunities," said John Rowe, President and Chief Operation Officer of Sammy Holding Company, Inc. "Now that we have taken yet another step toward becoming a global force in entertainment, we look forward to finding mutually beneficial ways to work with Sega."

Sammy Corp. is growing its pachinko and pachislot business as it continues to diversify into other areas of entertainment. Sammy Holding oversees Sammy Corp.'s business in the US, Canada, and Europe.

Talkback

Bill AurionDecember 11, 2003

Bill wants Sammy to leave Sega alone and port a Guilty Gear game to the GC...

GaimeGuyDecember 11, 2003

Sammy isn't a poorly managed company. They know what they're doing.

DjunknownDecember 11, 2003

Its not that Sega makes bad games on the consoles, its just when the good ones come out, no one buys them. Sega Soccer Slam? Excellent game, hard to come by now. Beach Spikers? Great pick-up-and-play title, with a nice layer of depth. The Xbox exclusives (Jet Set Radio, Panzer Dragoon, Shenmue II,etc) were great, but it appears Xbox players have looked elsewhere.

If Nintendo can get a home port of the upcoming Gulity Gear vs Capcom, I'll be happy with that. Doubtful though, it'll probably go to PS2 (Or if we're really lucky, a GBA conversion.)

Speaking of Arcades, I STILL can't find a F-Zero AX machine in my area. C'mon now, I need to get those unlockables; I can't get much better you know!

couchmonkeyDecember 12, 2003

I was under the impression that the arcade as we knew it in the 80s and early 90s was dead...I've been three or four around my area, and it's always the same story: a couple of machines from the last three years (and they're almost always sequels to an already popular arcade game, like Tekken or Street Fighter) and then a bunch of machines dating back to at the mid 90s or earlier...much earlier. I'm sure the guys in charge of Sammy know more about the industry than I do, but I'm also sure that I'm not going to be playing any new Sega arcade games in the next year or so.

But I won't deny that Sega has been having trouble selling on the consoles. Maybe it would be wise if the company chose a console to be it's "headquarters" and then gave ports to the others when it was logical? I bet a lot of hardcore Sega fans have been unable to buy all the games they really want because they're spread out over so many consoles. I'd love to have Virtua Fighter 4 and Jet Set Radio Future, but I'm not going to spend $500 on new consoles to play them. Likewise I bet a lot of Xbox and PS2 owning Sega fans would like to have a copy of Super Monkey Ball or Beach Spikers, but those are only available on the GameCube.

By comparison, Capcom, Konami or Square Enix fans can get almost any game they want on the PS2. You might also need to own a GameCube if you want the latest Resident Evil games, but even then PS2 has Code Veronica and RE Online, so it's not like there are no options at all.

KnoxxvilleDecember 12, 2003

......SAMMY!

Hmmmmm, not as catchy as......SEGA!, but decent nonetheless.

DjunknownDecember 12, 2003

Couchmonkey, the general idea is that American arcades aren't as profitable like times past; one could say that since the current consoles are so powerful, that there's virtually no difference in terms of sound graphics, etc from the arcade incarnations. Namco's Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast proved this point(Though it kinda shattered the arcade version but you get my point). Don't believe me? Find screen shots of Soul Calibur Arcade, stack them up with the Dreamcast version and see the difference.

In Japan however, Arcades are still making mad yen. That's probably why they thought nothing of adding arcade compatability to F-Zero GX since Arcades are nearby. Meanwhile, the 'local' arcade in my area only received SNK vs Capcom as a new game. The man I talked said there's a slim chance of F-Zero AX it making it here.

I believe Sammy's head honcho said something to the effect that they could charge 10 yen (roughly an American dime) and still make a profit in another interview. Damn, I'd love to see that happen over here as oppossed to 50 cent to start, 50 to continue.

EDIT: Hey Knoxxvile, imagine if they said SAAMMYY as oppossed to SEEGA(From the old Sonic games.) at the title screen. Creepy....

Add to the discussion!

Log in