Sega Studio Mergers Official

Sega makes everything official, announcing just one holding company owning all studios - plus Suzuki's new studio tentatively named.

Sega have today made official the restructuring details we brought you last week. As anticipated, there will now be seven studios, comprising one unaffected unit, five studios as products of merged studios, and one newly established studio - Cinematic Online Games.

• WOW Works (tentative name) - combines WOW Entertainment and Overworks.
• SEGA-AM2 - the only unit that remains standalone.
• Hitmaker Ltd - now incorporating Sega Rosso
• Amusement Vision Ltd - not merging with Smilebit as it turns out
• Smilebit Corporation - and not incorporating Amusement Vision either.
• Sonicteam Ltd - now incorporating United Game Artists
• Cinematic Online Games (tentative name) - the new studio to be headed by Yu Suzuki.

The new group of studios will no longer be independent companies owned by Sega - instead, Sega has opted to create one holding company, which will wholly own all studios.

Yu Suzuki will run the newly named Cinematic Online Games from Sega's head office in Otah-ku.

Those studios dissolving into neighbouring studios, are described as being 'liquidated'. In addition, although Smilebit and Amusement Vision will be 'transferring business' to consolidate, they will actually remain as independent studios - a further clarification that was previously unclear.

It has been suggested Cinematic Online Games, based in Sega's main Ohta-ku building, may be taking control of the Shenmue franchise, leaving AM2 to concentrate on fighting games and games for fans. However it is worth noting that while Yu Suzuki will be running COG, the studio will have just 22 employees, compared to other studios with anywhere between 40 and 140 staff.

The company's president Hiaso Oguchi has also outlined the purpose of the restructuring.

According to his report, Sega will now be able to strengthen product marketability with the creation of "global blockbuster titles". The games will be driving future growth, and categorised as 'new titles', 'hit titles', 'big titles', and titles for U.S. Europe markets. Essentially, the move will improve productivity and efficiency, and reduce costs.

Further meetings will take place in August, as sharegholders approve the mergers. From October 1, 2003 the restructureing becomes effective. Click here for a more detailed report on what the new studios mean for Sega fans.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com