SEGA and EA Rumors again!

[Zhao]

Courtesy of IGN.com


May 27, 2003 - An interview out of Reuters news service reveals that Sega and Electronic Arts could be teaming up in the future. Upcoming Sega of Japan CEO Hisao Oguchi commented to Reuters Japan that Sega would like to strengthen its standing in the American marketplace both in terms of software development and sales. The company is considering the possibility of partnering up with other companies towards both ends. Electronic Arts comes into the picture in the area of sales, with EA having apparently proposed a plan to Sega for a North American sales alliance.
This is inline with statements made by Oguchi a couple of weeks back when his appointment was first announced by the company. At that time, possible candidates for Sega's business were not disclosed.

There are, of course, numerous issues raised by this news, as the two companies are fierce competitors in the area of sports gaming. How will everything work out in the end? We expect more news to appear from Sega's June investor's meeting. Stay tuned.


Hisao Oguchi ran SEGA JAPAN before in 1994 and 1996 which were SEGAs best years in terms of profit. Within this article he says that he might join EA, which might be a merge or possibly a collab on some games, but if SEGA were to merge with EA, I think he would have even a better chance of seeing more profits for SEGA and a better chance of seeing Shenmue 3.

[Shenmueplaya]

They may team up but a complete merger? No way, I think SEGA still has a long way to go as an independent company. If anyone were to buy them out, just let it not be EA.

[Jacob Marley]

More on this below according to www.gamespy.com/xbox

I like Hisao Oguchi's statement...""We have been badly beaten in the U.S. consumer video game market. if we can't resolve this on our own, then it's better to join hands with someone."

Guess that serves them right for their shoddy sports games and years of hardware failures. Microsoft should jump at the opportunity to salvage and raid Sega for their best assets. What happens to Sega after that matters not.

EA Offers Sega An Alliance
Celeryface | 9:31 |


Reuters is reporting that Sega Corp. is considering an offer made by Electronics Arts to form a sales alliance for the U.S. market. Sega Corp did not provide details of EA's offer, but said nothing has been decided as of yet.
It has been widely reported that Sega took a large blow with low sales of its sports titles in the U.S. last year, and Sega Senior Officer Hisao Oguchi reflects on that in an interview with Reuters:

"We have been badly beaten in the U.S. consumer video game market," said Oguchi. "If we can't resolve this on our own, then it's better to join hands with someone."
Microsoft has also been reported as a highly interested party in Sega Corp. Analysts have said that both EA and Microsoft are not interested in acquiring the entire company, but rather individual development teams or franchises. Stay tuned for more on this story, as it's definitely heating up.

[shinneri]

Heh. Electronic Arts wants to merge with Sega? I believe it was Electronic Arts that DIDN'T support the Dreamcast which I feel was a major blow to Dreamcast's success. Add into that the fact that Electronic Arts has only released one imaginative and innovative game in its entire existance (The Sims), and I just find a merger with EA very undesirable. I would MUCH rather see that Namco merger than this.

[shinneri]

... So they only want some of Sega's teams and franchises? How could that work?

I don't like the sound of it.

[Zhao]

In the article on Gamespy.com

"Microsoft has also been reported as a highly interested party in Sega Corp. Analysts have said that both EA and Microsoft are not interested in acquiring the entire company, but rather individual development teams or franchises. Stay tuned for more on this story, as it's definitely heating up."

What the hell does that mean....if I were Microsoft I would snatch SEGA AM2 with all there current games in development and Shenmue III. Also Visual Concepts for better sports games on Xbox, Wave Master, Sonic Team, WOW Entertainment and UGA which is basically all of SEGA and make them a part of the Microsoft Game Studios.

Then that would be the acquistion of the century.

[kenshiro]

A merger with EA doesn't really make sense....for one thing, Sega did so shitty partly b/c of EA, namely the sports games and lack of DC support. Another thing is if they did merge, what about all those sports titles? Dumb IMO.

On the other hand, a MS/Sega or Nintendo/Sega or Namco/Sega makes sense. MS needs more Japanese games and MS Sports games suck. Nintendo could also use the larger library and Namco would also fit nicely. I think MS is the best bet b/c MS has the $$$.

The sticking point is the arcades.....Sega wants to put more $$$ in the arcades, MS doesn't.

[Zhao]

Microsoft should stop being so stuck up about arcades and spend there damn money. there so damn greedy, those bastards

[Jacob Marley]

Microsoft should stop being so stuck up about arcades and spend there damn money. there so damn greedy, those bastards

Greedy? Not at all. Being smart about where they invest and allocate their dollars is how they got to be as big and successful as they are. Obviously, through research and feasibility studies, MS has seen that arcades are simply not a good investment to make given today's business climate. It's not just a snap decision, and also given the fact that XBOX hardware does exist in arcade-board form, they have experienced first hand that arcade gaming is not a lucrative business today.

[Zhao]

i kno but they have so much of it so they should spend some

[goaliefrk]

LOL, never be the head of a corporation Zhao.

[shinneri]

Microsoft should stop being so stuck up about arcades and spend there damn money. there so damn greedy, those bastards

Microsoft spends money left and right. They bought Rare and are in talks with Sega all the time. They give (or gave) away two free games with their Xbox (not to mention the losses they took on the Xbox itself). Arcades are not as big a business as they used to be. There isn't one good arcade near me, and I think that's true for a lot of places.

[kenshiro]

Microsoft spends money left and right. They bought Rare and are in talks with Sega all the time. They give (or gave) away two free games with their Xbox (not to mention the losses they took on the Xbox itself). Arcades are not as big a business as they used to be. There isn't one good arcade near me, and I think that's true for a lot of places.

Arcades are going down in the USA. There used to be this really good arcade near my house (always had the latest games), but it went out of business. Even the big arcade in the mall is doing crappy. I see arcades go left and right....and I live in a big city. Think about this, arcade machines are very, very ,very expensive. A used Tekken 4 now goes for around $2000. Some arcade boothes cost as much as a car. Now figure charging a couple of quarters per play minus rising electriciy costs.....low profit margins. Also these days we have 3 good consoles that are almost as powerful as their arcade counterparts, so you get less incentive and people going to the arcade. Why pay 50 cents to play Tekken 4, when I can just wait a few monthes and buy a close to arcade port for $50 and play as much as I want? However, to play a single game in Japan costs like a buck or two (for non racing or fancy games...those can cost like $5 per play or more)....but then again, electricity and property is more expensive in Japan.

[goaliefrk]

I've never liked arcades, just seems like a rip off.

[Jacob Marley]

Microsoft spends money left and right. They bought Rare and are in talks with Sega all the time. They give (or gave) away two free games with their Xbox (not to mention the losses they took on the Xbox itself). Arcades are not as big a business as they used to be. There isn't one good arcade near me, and I think that's true for a lot of places.

Arcades are going down in the USA. There used to be this really good arcade near my house (always had the latest games), but it went out of business. Even the big arcade in the mall is doing crappy. I see arcades go left and right....and I live in a big city. Think about this, arcade machines are very, very ,very expensive. A used Tekken 4 now goes for around $2000. Some arcade boothes cost as much as a car. Now figure charging a couple of quarters per play minus rising electriciy costs.....low profit margins. Also these days we have 3 good consoles that are almost as powerful as their arcade counterparts, so you get less incentive and people going to the arcade. Why pay 50 cents to play Tekken 4, when I can just wait a few monthes and buy a close to arcade port for $50 and play as much as I want? However, to play a single game in Japan costs like a buck or two (for non racing or fancy games...those can cost like $5 per play or more)....but then again, electricity and property is more expensive in Japan.

Japan and other Asian countries still have thriving arcade scenes, despite the higher costs associated with running them. The difference is, that many feature Pachinko and Mahjong-type gambling games (though not for money as gambling for money in japan is illegal) that co-exist with the arcade machines, unlike the US where you'll still find the occassional arcade, but more and more you start seeing those LAN gaming zones tucked away in corners.

The one thing that an arcade will always having going for it versus a home system is the ability to play worthy opponents on a fighting game in person. Yes, the internet and XBOX Live have done a good job of providing some of this experience to today's gamers, but the whole "in person" social atmosphere of playing an arcade machine is what keeps them popular in some areas. Somehow, playing Capcom Vs SNK2 on XBOX LIVE with little Timmy who trash talks like he's some kind of bad ass, just isn't the same.