I hate bringing disappointing news, however Sega Europe have today confirmed that as a result of their recent restructure, they will be shifting their focus to developing new and existing digital content as well as key IP’s for packaged goods. This has also meant that as part of this strategy, that their offices in France, Germany, Spain, Australia and Benelux will be closed.
Koch Media have been appointed to assist SEGA with distribution across Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and Spain of packaged goods, Level03 Distribution and 5 Star Games will assist with distribution across Benelux and Australia respectively which will be implemented from the 1st July 2012. I have included additional information on each of this new distributors at the end of this article. All other territories will continue to be run through the same channels as before, and along with Koch, Level03 and 5 Star, will be managed through the SEGA Europe Headquarters based in London. Jurgen Post, COO of Sega Europe had this to say on this announcement:
SEGA is entering a new and exciting phase that will position the company as a content led organisation maximising sales with strong and balanced IP such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Football Manager and the Aliens franchise. The company will benefit from a clear focus and realigned strategy for our digital business and packaged goods and we are confident that this will lead to a successful future.
This does mean for games that are not primary IP’s in the English market may not be released outside of Japan, putting releases such as Anarchy Reigns and Yakuza 5 into doubt (Might be time to break out the ol’ Japanese textbooks). SEGA will however continue the sales, marketing and distribution of London 2012 – The Official Video Game of the Olympc Games for the PC, Playstation 3 and XBox360 game consoles.
About SEGA Europe
SEGA® Europe Ltd. is the European Distribution arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA® Corporation, and a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. SEGA Europe’s web site is located at www.sega.com.
About Level03 Distribution (Benelux)
Level03 Distribution is the new turnkey solution in the Benelux that ensures the best possible attention, visibility and results for your products. Level03 provides the following services: sales, marketing/pr and distribution. Level03 has a strong focus on entertainment related products such as video games, gaming peripherals and merchandise. More information: www.level03.com.
About Five Star Games Pty Ltd (Australia)
Five Star Games Pty Ltd is founded by Darren Macbeth the ex -Managing Director of SEGA Australia and prior to that MD of Ubisoft Australia. Five Star is focused exclusively on selling, marketing and distributing premium quality video games in the Australian market.
