Sega announce to specialize game contents business for console

Sega announce to specialize game contents business for console
Be a world’s best contents provider by multi-platform strategy.

Sega Corporation (HD at Tokyo, Japan, CEO: Isao Okawa) will be specializing contents business for Dreamcast, which is the most strong part of our console business. By forwarding the multi-platform strategy, we will aim to be the world’s best contents provider and also to increase the revenue.

We will be withdrawing from the ordinary gaming business that consider game console as a main, and we will stop manufacturing and retailing Dreamcast by the end of this fiscal year (Mar. 2001). Regarding the Dreamcast software business, we will be continuing this aggressively from now on too and we are to release more than 70 game titles within this fiscal year (2001 April to 2001 March).

As we have announced the new management plan on November 2001, Sega has already started providing its solid contents to next-generation mobile phone and PDA. And now, as the second phase of our contents business strategy, we have decided to provide ‘Sonic the Hedgehog Advance’ (working title)’ and other two titles to Nintendo’s ‘Game Boy Advance’ (March 2001 to be released), ‘Virtua Fighter 4’ and other four titles to Sony’s ‘Playstation 2’. (See later for contents.)

Since the establish on 1960, Sega has grown as an amusement machine maker and after 1983, we have joined the console market too. We have always been a pioneer and kept providing most advanced products to consumers. The core competence of Sega that has been leading the market is developing skill and we have high skill of developing many ‘world’s first’ products. We have been evaluated as a game maker that has world’s best software in the world.

Today, the circumstance of gaming market has been changing in this 21st century, and the business model of console business has also came to transforming term. The console business that needs both hardware and software used to have a business model that hardware will be sold in low price and sell many software per one hardware to get profit. Though recently, hardware became to have high specification by the evolution of semiconductor, and this result to cost more to produce hardware. Therefore, to keep the balance between software business and hardware business is becoming difficult and difficult and the revenue system is becoming difficult to success.

Considering these situations, Sega is starting to transform the business model of hardware as a platform strategy. This strategy utilizes Dreamcast’s biggest feature -digital communication- and progress to carry DC architecture to PC, STB (Set Top Box) and digital home electronic products, that are the most powerful platform in Internet society to widen our range of contents.

As for the contents business that is Sega’s most strong and powerful part, we will be transforming into contents-oriented business model rapidly to structure new revenue model. Since we can provide our old age and new software to wide range of consumers now, we will aim to be the world’s best contents provider and progress aggressively to gain profit.

Titles for Game Boy Advance

• Chu Chu Rocket!: Mar. 2001 (TBD) Action Puzzle
  Sonicteam present the funky party action puzzle to Game Boy Advance! Lead the cute mice and let them escape by a rocket! New features just only for GBA such as four- player- battle are ready too!
• Puyo Puyo: Summer 2001 (TBD) Action Puzzle
  This is the mother of action game and four series were released for Sega’s console. And those have been sold more than 10 million units in total. You can enjoy the universe of the long seller title that greets 10 years anniversary this year.
• Sonic the Hedgehog Advance: (TBD) Autumn 2001 (TBD) Action
  Since its debut on 1991, Sonic series has sold more than 15 million units in all over the world and become a big hit. 2001, Sonic’s 10th anniversary, Sonic will run around the brand new field appears in GBA.

Titles for Playstation 2

• Virtua Fighter 4: TBD 3D Battle Action
  2001, the game that made a boom of 3D battle and been providing game not only with high technology but also with high quality, ‘Virtua Fighter’ series will come back to arcade. And it will be converted to PS2 too!
• ‘Let’s Make’ series: two titles: TBD Sport Simulation
  You will be the owner and director of the sport team and you raise the player by managing the team. The deep gaming attracts sport fan too.
• Sakura War Series: TBD Dramatic Adventure
  It has established an original genre ‘Dramatic adventure’. ‘Sakura War’ ‘Sakura War 2’ have been a big hit and those sold more than 1.5 million units. It is now working at not only game but also at CD, animation, show and many other media.
• Space Channel 5: series TBD Action
  This is the sequel of ‘Space Channel 5’ that has been nominated to four category of 1999 Japan Gaming Award.What is the next case waiting for Ulala, universe’s No.1 reporter? Action, drama, and the story that will be born beyond the simple game will be powered up this time.

News page content input by Dominic Robinson, 2001.