GENDA Will Take Control of Sega Sammy.

Sega has been a mainstay and massive part of the gaming market. From franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Shenmue, and the Yakuza series. However, what many don’t know is that back in 2004, after stepping back from being a console manufacturer, Sega merged with Sammy Corp. and created the Sega Sammy division. This division oversaw all the licensed Sega arcades across Tokyo and Japan, but also Sammy’s pachinko parlors. For those who don’t know pachinko is a legalized version of gambling that’s very popular in Japan. Due to this tie to gambling and many other questionable business decisions some wondered if there could be a deeper partnership with any major gaming publisher. It was announced that GENDA (which is an acronym for Global Entertainment Network for Dreams and Aspirations) will acquire controlling shares over Sega Sammy and their arcade division. The announcement came during a recent board meeting.  GENDA is set to take control of 85.1% controlling shares of the company; With Sega only keeping 14.9% of the shares of Sammy. This will take effect on December 3rd once the transfer finalizes.

GENDA with taking control will own, operate, maintain, and manufacture all arcade cabinets currently in circulation. They will also maintain any that are sold to new arcades or private individuals going forward. This deal actually creates a very unique situation for Sega now. This also comes at the time where they are asking for their 650 employees at Sammy to retire and look for new work. With an offering of severance pay and new work location assistance, this adds some interesting possibilities. With Sega being more profitable than ever with its Subsidiaries such as Sega Toys, Sega Entertainment, and Sega Games, which recombined to be called Sega Corporation; Sega now has several possibilities for their future. With them no longer being held back by Sammy Corp. Sega now has a chance to enter a long-term partnership or acquisition talks with a major publisher. However, this is unlikely due to the recent success of their Persona 4 Golden remaster released on PC. While Microsoft has a long-standing relationship with the Japanese software company acquisition is unlikely; Even if they are still looking to acquire more developers especially in Japan. However, they could potentially enter a partnership with Sega for more games to be ported, remade, or funded by Xbox to get a priority to be brought to their ecosystem. Now while this does have plausibility, this is just speculation. And as for Sony acquiring Sega, they wouldn’t be able to afford them due to financial constraints. While Persona 5 was the best selling Persona game to date, it was limited heavily by being only on one platform. What happens next is going to be a big wait and see for the former console maker. What are your guys’ thoughts now that GENDA will take control of Sega Sammy? -Jess (@BloodieKnuX)