SEGA Corporation

SEGA Corporation is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. Sega previously developed and manufactured its own brand of home video game consoles from 1983 to 2001, but a restructure was announced on 31 January 2001 that ceased continued production of its existing home console, effectively exiting the company from the home console business. While arcade development would continue unchanged for a long while, the restructure shifted the focus of the company's home video game software development to consoles developed by various third-party manufacturers. They would sell their arcade business to Genda Inc. (under the GiGo brand) in January 2022.

SEGA has developed and produced many popular video games in a variety of genres, including renowned series such as Crazy Taxi, The House of the Dead, Jet Grind/Set Radio, Phantasy Star, Sakura Wars, Sonic the Hedgehog, Virtua Fighter, Wonder Boy, Yakuza and many others. Through acquisition of other companies, it has also held numerous successful intellectual properties like Company of Heroes, Endless, Football Manager, Total War, Two Point and others.

History

Sega's roots can be traced back to a small company based in Honolulu, Hawaii named Standard Games, that began operations in 1940. In 1951, Raymond Lemaire and Richard Stewart moved the company to Tokyo, to develop and distribute coin-operated amusement-type games such as jukeboxes and slot machines, and renamed it Service Games. Within a few years Service Games began importing these machines to American military bases throughout Japan.

In 1954, David Rosen, an American officer in the Air Force, launched a two-minute photo booth business in Tokyo. This company eventually became Rosen Enterprises, and in 1957 began importing coin-operated games to Japan. By 1965, Rosen Enterprises grew to a chain of over 200 arcades, with Service Games its only competitor. Rosen then orchestrated a merger between Rosen Enterprises and Service Games, who by then had their own factory facilities, becoming chief executive of the new company, Sega Enterprises, which derived its name from the first two letters of SErvice GAmes.

Within a year, Sega began the transition from importer to manufacturer, with the release of the Rosen designed submarine simulator game Periscope. It was soon exported to both Europe and the United States, becoming the world's first 25 cent arcade game.

In 1982, Sega introduced one of the industry's first three-dimensional games, SubRoc 3-D. The following year, an overabundance of arcade games led to the video game crash; Sega then pioneered the use of laser disks in the video game Astronbelt, designing and releasing its first home video game console, the SG-1000.

In 1986, Sega of America was poised to take advantage of the resurgent video game market in the United States. Sega released the Sega Master System console and the first Alex Kidd game, who became the company's unofficial mascot until 1991, when Sonic the Hedgehog took over.

After this Sega went on to create 3 more home consoles: the Genesis/Mega Drive (1988/89), Saturn (1994/95) and their final home console the Dreamcast (1998/99). Two add-ons were also released for the Genesis/Mega Drive: the Sega CD/Mega CD and the 32X. They also created the Game Gear (1990/91), a handheld system.

Known subsidiaries

Names in italics used to be subsidiaries, but no longer are as they were closed or sold off.

Regional offices

• SEGA of America
• SEGA Europe

Internal (as of 2018)

• Division 1
  • Ryu ga Gotoku Studio (founded in 2011)
• Division 2
  • Sonic Team (founded in 1990)
• Division 3
• Division 4
  • SEGA Networks (founded around 2009)
• Division 5 #1-3
  • Division 5 Products
• SEGA Amusements International
• SEGA AM1 a.k.a. Wow Entertainment (founded in 1984 - merged into SEGA Wow in 2003 - restored in 2004)
• SEGA AM2 (founded in 1983)
• SEGA (Shanghai) Software
• SEGA Toys (founded in 1991)

Non-internal

• Adeline Software (acquired in 1997 - closed by 2004 - formerly No Cliché)
• Amplitude Studios (acquired in 2016)
• Atlus (acquired in 2013)
  • Atlus U.S.A. (acquired in 2013)
• The Creative Assembly (acquired in 2005)
• CRI Middleware (incorporated in 2001 - remained with CSK after SEGA was taken over by Sammy Corporation in 2004)
• Demiurge Studios (acquired in 2015 - sold to its co-founder in 2020)
• Hardlight (founded in 2012)
• Play Heart (acquired in 2015)
• Relic Entertainment (acquired in 2013 - became independent in 2024)
• Rovio Entertainment (acquired in 2023)
  • Rovio Copenhagen (acquired in 2023)
  • Rovio Stockholm (acquired in 2023)
• SEGA Black Sea a.k.a. Creative Assembly Sofia (acquired in 2017 - formerly Black Sea Studios / Crytek Black Sea)
• SEGA Racing Studio (founded in 2005 - sold to and merged with Codemasters in 2008)
• SEGA Studios Australia (acquired in 2005 as The Creative Assembly International- closed in 2013)
• SEGA Studios San Francisco (acquired in 2006 as Secret Level - closed in 2010)
• SIMS (founded in 1991 - sold to company president in 2004)
• Sports Interactive (acquired in 2006)
• Three Rings Design (acquired in 2011 - presumed closed in 2016)
• Two Point Studios (acquired in 2019)
• Visual Concepts Entertainment (acquired in 1999 - sold to Take-Two Interactive Software in 2005)

Other related pages of former subsidiaries

• Amusement Vision (founded in 1998 as SEGA AM11, later AM4 - merged into SEGA CS1 in 2004)
• Beijing SEGA Mobile Entertainment Technology
• CA Sega Joypolis a.k.a. SEGA Live Creation
• Hyundai Sega Entertainment
• Overworks (founded in 1993 as SEGA AM7 - merged into SEGA Wow in 2003)
• Sega, S.A. SONIC
• SEGA AM3 a.k.a. Hitmaker (founded in 1990 - closed in 2009)
• SEGA AM Plus (founded around 2005 - merged into SEGA AM2 by 2009)
• SEGA Amusements U.S.A.
• SEGA Amusements Taiwan
• SEGA Australia (founded in 2007 - closed in 2012)
• SEGA Electronics (acquired in 1978 as Gremlin Industries - closed in 1983)
• SEGA Enterprises, Inc.
• SEGA Entertainment, Inc. (founded in 1996 - merged back into SEGA of America in 1998)
• SEGA France
• SEGA Germany (founded in 1991 - closed in 2001)
• SEGA Interactive (founded in 2015 - merged back into SEGA in 2020)
• SEGA Interactive Development Division (founded in 1992 as Interactive Designs - closed by 2000)
• SEGA Jinwin (Shanghai) Amusements
• SEGA Logistics Service
• SEGA Mechatro R&D Department
• SEGA Midwest Studio
• SEGA Mobile
• SEGA Mode
• SEGA Multimedia Studio (founded in 1993 - closed in 1995)
• SEGA Entertainment NE R&D
• SEGA of America Dreamcast, Inc.
• SEGA R&D2
• SEGA Rosso (founded in 1996 as SEGA AM5 - merged into Hitmaker in 2003)
• SEGA Software R&D Dept. 7
• SEGA Sports Japan (founded in 1994 as SEGA AM6, later Smilebit - merged back into SEGA in 2004)
  • G9 Team (merged back in 1998)
  • Team Aquila (merged back in 1998)
  • Team Andromeda (merged back in 1998)
  • Team Vega (merged back in 1998)
• SEGA Studios
• SEGA Studios USA (founded in 1999 as Sonic Team USA - merged into Sonic Team in 2008)
• SEGA Technical Institute (founded in 1989 - closed in 1996)
• SEGA Video Games Netherlands
• SEGA Wow (founded in 2003 - merged back into SEGA in 2004)
• Sonic Software Planning!
• SegaSoft (founded in 1995 - presumed closed in 2000)
• Team Shinobi
• United Game Artists (founded in 2000 as SEGA AM9, later AM Annex - merged into Sonic Team in 2003)