Sega's selling off their arcade buildings in Japan, branding will remain on them

Huge bummer. I have some good memories of going to Gameworks in Las Vegas, which had a lot of Sega arcade games (including Sonic Championship).

 

That's the physical running of arcades (or "game centers" as they're known in Japan), not the production of arcade games.

And they do have a lot.

 

Okay a bit more because the misinformation is spreading. Here is the actual statement:

https://www.segasammy.co.jp/english/pdf/release/20201104_e_subsidiary_final.pdf

Here's how Sega works - it makes a distinction between "amusements" and "entertainment", because words are strange. The "amusement" division of Sega has been producing products since the company's inception - that's not going away, because it's like... the core of the business. Or at least it is now since they've re-merged all the bits that make games.

But Sega also looks after the buildings where they put their arcade games, which is grouped under "Sega Entertainment" along with other building-like things (but not Sega-Sammy's weird spa and resort operations - that's also different).

What sort of buildings? These sorts of buildings. Sega have been consistently opening and closing hundreds of these things for at least 30 years, and I've tried to keep on top, but I can't, and you should help. Global pandemics decrease footfall, so presumably most of these sites are currently unprofitable. So Sega has sold most (not all) of its Sega Entertainment business to a third-party, but is still planning to stock up these venues with machines and services. Barely any of these exist outside of Japan, and there none outside of Asia. I would expect some to close... though I would have expected that anyway.


Now the Akihabara site - that's the flagship game center. It never closed and will likely not close, but it was downsized earlier in the year. Sega owned three big buildings and they closed the one that's furthest away from the other two, probably because it was competing with itself. It's unrelated as far as I can see.

Sega expect to make losses because a good chunk of their business involves people going to places, and you're not being encouraged to do that right now.

 

Famitsu had a chat with Sega people:
https://www.famitsu.com/news/202011/05208913.html

Essentially the Sega name will continue to be used, and visitors probably won't notice any difference. There's some noise about Sega moving some staff from arcade production to their consumer business, but they've been doing that on-and-off since 1983.


Oh and don't forget, until Sega Retro showed up, there was no English-language documentation of these venues even existing (and even now it's little more than "SEGA XXX EXISTS"). But it might be wise for someone to jump and update our coverage, should Sega start closing websites or whatever. Though I'd recommend doing that for most things tbh.


Also RE: Sega in Akihabara, can't keep up:



Since I last checked in, Sega have numbered their buildings. So I was wrong - following the closure of building 2, there are four left within walking distance. Oh no.

 

This is very sad news for many Sega fans, and fans of arcades in general, in Japan. In the 80s and 90s, Sega game centers were ubiquitous across the country, especially in suburban areas, and numbered in the thousands. Sega popularized UFO catchers (crane games) and purikura (photo) booths, two of the things that the average Japanese citizen most strongly associates with game centers. Today, they still operate almost 200 game centers.

Although Western Sega fans mostly associate them with their consoles, in Japan it's the opposite - Sega's image is so closely linked to arcades that this almost feels like the last nail in the coffin of the arcade business. The Japanese internet is understandably not taking this well. It is the end of an era.

Yes, Sega is retaining a small percent of the stock and allowing their name to still be used, but it's clearly an act of last resort and unlikely things will stay the same for long.

Sega has also just 'asked' 650 employees to retire early.

 

Definitely a bummer. I heard about the Akihabara one but find it depressing if they are doing this across the board.