Sega Merges With Pachinko Company Sammy

conform writes "The New York Times reported today that Sega Corporation (the Japanese parent company) has merged with Sammy Corp, a vendor of pachinko machines. The Sammy side of things are expected to dominate post-merger operations, and will likely shift Sega operational focuses back to the arcade market. Also, the end of the article notes in passing that SquareSoft has been aquired by rival RPG manufacturer Enix."

Comments

Not just Pachinko

[EvilJello]

Sammy has done a bit more than just Pachinko, notably the very fun shooter, Viewpoint : Some sammy games emulated in mame

Sega's financial troubles.

[larsoncc]

This isn't a particularily stunning move (that SOMEONE would take an interest in Sega), as Sega has been a target for quite some time. Sega has been bleeding money - earning less than expected even though they ceased hardware production.

The reason? Poor sales of the "2K" sport series, combined with heavy marketing of the series. They've been unable to dethrone EA, even though they're producing quality product.

Personally, I've got a soft spot for Sega because of Phantasy Star and "blast processing".

Here's a good Genesis game (Thunder Force III): Review.

Next game from Sega?

[ackthpt]

The next big game from Sega, Pachinko?

I wonder what percentage of Sammy is:

Supported by debt backed up by Microsoft (This in regards to speculation on what japanese entity is benefitting from $590 million insured by Microsoft in their last quarterly statement.)

Run by North Koreans. (note: not a Troll! It is well known that most Pachinko parlors in Japan are run by North Korean families (think: mafia), for the purpose of exporting cash to North Korea.

"Pachinko for the XBox, great, what shall we call it?"

"How about AI Pachinko."

"We'll get sued, but I like it..."