Tec Toy had a very close relationship with the japanese side of SEGA, I think the timeline was translated by someone from SoJ which would explain all those romanization errors and the fact it is english instead of portuguese.
SEGA OF AMERICA INC. COMPANY BACKGROUND
History of Sega of America, Inc.
Sega® of America, based in Redwood City, California, was established in 1986 as the wholly-owned subsidiary of Sega Enterprises, Ltd., of Japan. However, its history goes back more than 40 years.
Sega was founded in Japan in 1954 by an American, David Rosen, as a company called Service Games Company, for the purpose of developing amusement-type games. In 1956, Rosen started importing mechanical coin-operated games, which were popular on U.S. military bases in Japan. During these early days, Rosen learned a lesson that still guides Sega -- better technology plus great gameplay wins the market.
In 1965, Rosen decided to make his own coin-operated games and acquired a factory through the purchase of a Tokyo jukebox and slot-machine maker. The company began stamping "SEGA" on its games -- short for Service Games, and the name was adopted by Rosen. The next year, Sega produced "Periscope," which became a worldwide hit. It was at this time that Rosen sold Sega to Gulf & Western Industries, continuing on as CEO.
Gulf & Western continued to build on the company�s original product and marketing strategy, with revenues hitting $214 million in 1982. By 1983, several "firsts" were introduced, including the first laser disc game, "Sega Astron Belt," the first 3D video game, "SubRoc-3D," and Sega�s first consumer video game console, "SG-1000," all marketed in Japan.
The arcades and the U.S. home market crashed shortly after. Gulf & Western, which had spun off 20 percent of Sega, bought back the public shares and sold the U. S. assets to Bally Manufacturing Corp.
However, in Japan, Sega survived. Back in 1979, Rosen had acquired a distribution company founded by a Japanese entrepreneur, Hayao Nakayama. Following the crash, Rosen joined Nakayama and other Japanese investors to buy the Japanese assets of Sega for $38 million. Nakayama became chief executive and Rosen headed the U.S. subsidiary. From that point forward, the company vowed to stick not with one concept too long, realizing that each generation of technology has a life and death.
In 1984, Sega Enterprises was bought by a partnership between Sega Enterprises Japanese management and CSK, forming Sega Enterprise Ltd., a Japan-based company.
In 1986, Sega Enterprises Ltd.�s stock was listed over the counter on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In addition, Sega of America was established to adapt and market video game products to a rapidly expanding American market. It was subsequently given the charter to develop software products specifically for the American market.
In the late 1980s, Sega Enterprises introduced a line of extremely successful video game systems and software titles that propelled the company into international prominence, making it the world�s second largest vendor of consumer video game products. In 1990, Sega Enterprises Ltd.�s stock was listed on the first tier of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In 1993, the stock was listed on the pink sheets of NASDAQ and available in ADR in the U.S.
In 1990, Sega aimed its products at a slightly older market than its main competitor, Nintendo, and released the 16-bit console, Sega Genesis™. Sega was quickly recognized by its fast-paced, "in-your-face" marketing and advertising, putting the company in the ranks of NIKE and Levi�s as favorite brands among America�s youth.
In December 1994, Sega of America, in a joint venture with Time Warner and TCI, launched the Sega Channel, which is a nationwide subscription-based cable network which provides videogames to Sega Genesis owners via their cable box. The Sega Channel was praised by the cable industry as the "coolest new service" and is continuing its success today.
In 1995, SegaSoft was formed through a joint venture between Sega of America and CSK Corporation to create interactive content.
The growth of Sega companies continued in 1996 with the creation of Sega Entertainment, Inc., a joint venture between Sega of America and SOFTBANK Holdings, Inc. Named one of PC Data�s top 25 publishers in 1997, based on software sales, Sega Entertainment is committed to creating arcade-quality games for the PC based on Sega�s properties.
Also in 1996, Sega, MCA and the DreamWorks� creative team of Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg joined forces as Sega GameWorks to create family-oriented location-based entertainment centers with the goal of expanding the gaming market.
In 1997, Sega promoted Bernie Stolar to COO of Sega of America. Previously executive vice president of product development and COO of Sega Entertainment, Stolar is an industry veteran, with more than 20 years in the video game business. As a visionary, Stolar plans to lead Sega into the next generation of gaming, while continuing to maintain Sega�s strong brand awareness and position in the marketplace.
Sega of America Today
Sega�s global goal is to be the leading developer on interactive entertainment in and out of the home. Sega of America�s role in this vision is to define television console-based entertainment, setting the standard for the best, most engaging interactive software.
Sega of America develops and markets software for its four television-based consoles: PICO™, a leading electronic learning aid, which utilizes "storyware" software and gives kids age three to seven years old a head start on technology. For the first time gamers, Sega developed Genesis, a 16-bit cartridge-based videogame system which became the videogame console of choice in the early 1990s and remains an important platform in 1997. Today, Sega is concentrating its efforts on making high quality five star titles for its popular Sega Saturn™ 32-bit videogame console. With more than 250 games in its library, and an installed base of more than 7 million world wide and 1.7 million in the U.S., Sega is dedicated to quality games at consumer-oriented pricing. In addition, Sega released the Sega Saturn Net Link, a peripheral allowing users to surf the World Wide Web and utilize network play opportunities.
In 1997 Sega will launch more than 25 games for the Saturn, with at least 80 additional third-party titles. The Sega Genesis system will offer its more than 18 million owners a number of new titles, plus a collection of classic Genesis games coming back to the market. On PICO, where titles remain evergreen, Sega will offer a total library of 15 titles. Finally, Saturn Net Link owners can look forward to five titles, representing the first console-based networked gaming experience.
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