Products Video games Website sega.com | Parent Sega | |
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Type Privately held, subsidiary Industry Computer and video games Key people Toshihiro Nagoshi, Yuji Naka, Rikiya Nakagawa, Noriyoshi Oba, Hisao Oguchi, Yu Suzuki | ||
This is a list of development studios owned by Sega, a multinational videogame developer and publisher based out of Tokyo, Japan.
Contents
Sega Studios
Sega has had in-house studios and subsidiary studios from 1983 to date. See also List of Sega software development studios
Development division
The development division was largely restricted to arcade development. The only exception was Sword of Vermilion which was designed from the ground up for the Sega Mega Drive home console.
Consumer development division
Shinobu Toyoda was the leader of Sega CD later known as AM8, and eventually Sonic Team. Under Toyoda's leadership, project designer Naoto Ohshima and lead programmer Yuji Naka pitched the idea of Sonic the Hedgehog as company mascot to Sega CEO, Hayao Nakayama. Yuji Naka became Studio head afterwards.
1990–1999
Sega reorganized and expanded upon their R&D studios, and the Consumer Divisions and Development Divisions were all now renamed to Sega-AM Teams (Amusement Machine Research & Development Teams).
The name "Sonic Team" has been used for AM8 since the inception of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991. NiGHTS Into Dreams... was the first game to have the Sonic Team logo on the boxart, officially separating it from the Amusement Machine Research & Development teams.
The expanded AM4 studio, spun off of AM2, and was led by Toshihiro Nagoshi. AM5 had many former Namco employees that worked on Ridge Racer.
Outside of Fighters Megamix and Digital Dance Mix, the focus of Sega AM-1 to AM5 was restricted to arcade development.
1999–2004
In 1999, the original character designer of Sonic the Hedgehog, Naoto Ohshima left Sega along with other employees due to disagreements with Yuji Naka to where the future of the franchise is headed. Artoon was founded by Naoto Ohshima and has many former Sonic Team employees. Around the same time, Team Andromeda dissolved along with its lead Yukio Futatsugi leaving the company. Former Team Andromeda employees have since then worked at Artoon, AQ Interactive, Microsoft Studios Japan, Grounding Co. and Land Ho.
In 2000, Sega converted all their in-house studios into 2nd Party Studios, for more independency and a bigger focus on the consumer market by former arcade focused studios. Former AM5 head Tetsuya Mizuguchi formed his own studio by the name of United Game Artists. Several Team Andromeda members have joined Smilebit and United Game Artists.
In 2003, due to management disagreements, UGA-led Tetsuya Mizuguchi and the Rez team left Sega to found Q Entertainment. The rest of the UGA team consisted of Space Channel 5 developers was folded back into Sonic Team.
Also in 2003, the action game side of Overworks spun off in to WOW Entertainment, which after Nightshade and Blood Will Tell, solely focused on content for arcades.
Hisao Oguchi became appointed to CEO in 2001, and Mie Kumagai replaced him as the studio head of Hitmaker.
Hirokazu Yasuhara who was the lead designer and director of the original Sonic the Hedgehog games, left Sega in 2002 and joined Naughty Dog, with the last position being designer of Visual Concepts Floigan Bros..
Due to decline of revenue of traditional Arcades, more focus went on Networked trading card games; which is a genre of arcade games that Sega essentially invented.
2004–2009
General Entertainment R&D Division was formed by the merger of Sonic Team, United Game Artists, and Overworks. The two departments were led by Sonic Team and Overworks producers, such as Yuji Naka and Akira Nishino. In 2006, Yuji Naka went independent to form Prope. Akinori Nishiyama and then Takashi Iizuka replaced him as the Producer.
New Entertainment R&D Division is essentially the AM6 or Smilebit of before with sports titles. However, Toshihiro Nagoshi and his team were integrated due to moving outside the arcade division, and gaining large control in this division. Takayuki Kawagoe continues to have a Producer and Executive role as he had before in the AM6/Smilebit division.
Amusement Software R&D Division which focuses on the development of games for arcade. The division is headed by Yu Suzuki, Hiroshi Kataoka, Atsushi Seimiya and Mie Kumagai. Networked arcade games that get continuously updated with users being able to save their file on ID cards, started to become a huge increase of focus, beginning with Virtua Fighter 4 in 2001.
2009–present
General Entertainment R&D Division changed its name to Consumer R&D Division, and New Entertainment R&D Division merged with Consumer R&D Division.
Amusement R&D Division which focuses on the development of games for arcade. Yu Suzuki stepped down and is now solely responsible for YS.NET
Sega Networks focuses on development for smartphones and tablets.
Affiliated studios
Sega began contracting subsidiary studios in 1983.