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

Arcade Dead?

[muzzynat]

From what I've been hearing the past couple of years, arcades are about dead(true from what I've seen too). I really don't think it would make sence for Sammy to push Sega tward the Arcade again. Especially when Sega is establishing itself as a third party developer for counsels. On the other hand, Sega does make a few games that would be cool in arcades(Panzer Dragoon, anyone?). Just curious if anyone else thinks arcade develpment is dead (whimpers, remembering "killer instinct" machines)

Re:Arcade Dead?

[johny_qst]

I definitely do not agree that the arcade is dead. Are you familiar with how popular arcades and plinko arcades are in japan? Do you realize that there are countries other than the USA that are consumers of such machines? Maybe to slashdot the endnote about square merging with enix is bigger news, but arcades are far from dead.

Re:Arcade Dead?

[briancnorton]

Arcades are FAR from dead, they are just in a state of transition. If you think they arent making money, go into a "Dave and Buster's" or a "Jillians" or another adult themed entertainment establishment. The arcades of the past were killed by the home consoles, no doubt.

The arcade of tomorrow (today) offers an experience that one cant get at home. They offer FUN, short multiplayer games that are more suitable to social situations than vegging on your couch, and they offer large expensive Virtual-reality systems that jimmy nintendo could never afford. You walk in and see motion capturing games like 911 Simulator or mocap boxing. You see racing games with wheels, force feedback, and motion simulation.

Most importantly, you see BEER. Adults can walk in and blow $100 on food, drink, and games and not bat an eye. Arcade kids had to bum $5 off dad. It's amazing how much money the nintendo generation now has control of. There is a VERY bright future in arcades, as there is going to be a big demand for very large, very expensive multiplayer gaming rigs. I'm glad sega has more insight than Atari.

Re:Arcade Dead?

[Anonvmous Coward]

"Just curious if anyone else thinks arcade develpment is dead (whimpers, remembering "killer instinct" machines)"

I think it's in a depression, bout I wouldn't say it's dead. The problem is that home consoles have caught up to what Arcades can produce. As a result, arcade games were no longer premium experiences. This has caused arcade game manufacturers to do things consoles can't.

That's where games like Dance Dance Revolution (hope I got the name right...) changes the variables. DDR is technically feasible in the home, but not really all that practical. Not to mention the social implications of playing it in a public place. Then there's a cop shooter game.. grr I can't remebmer the name, I think it had 911 in the title though. What's different about it is that there are motion sensors that can track your body movement, so if you duck out of the way you can avoid being shot. I have difficulty imaginging that game being faithfully ported to a Playstation.

I honestly believe that we'll see a reniassance in arcade gaming. A theater near my house has a small arcade, and every single game they have there would be difficult to port to a home console without a seperate hardware add-on. That place is constantly busy despite not being in a mall or being an official 'arcade'. It's just a matter of getting a new round of creativity brewing up new types of games.

So, in short, I think arcades are in a slump right now. They will pick up, though.

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..."

Re:Does anyone care-not spam bate on purpose

[amuro98]

Yeah, and you won't see those expensive machines in the arcades either...

At least around here, the only arcades that are left are:

* Dave & Busters - if you convert your credits back into $$$, you'll find you're paying $.50+ for most of their mis-maintained games.

* Nickel City - Cheap old arcade games! Yay. Overrun by rugrats! Boo.

* Putt Putt/go-kart places - A few newer machines, most $.50/game.

* Sony Metereon - $2 to play DDR. No. No thank you.

Arcades as I knew them from the 80s and 90s are dead. I used to pump $10, even $20 into machines, but why do that now? $20 will *buy* you some pretty good games, regardless of what machine you've got at home. And now with online play, there's even less reason to go to the arcades where you could play an online game for $3-7/session...