Well, well… looks like Sega is taking out the DC and is becoming a developer. Below is more on this breaking story.
Yahoo! Japan News has a report from the Jiji Tsushin (sort of like a Japanese version of the Associated Press) that confirms what many have been expecting: Sega, after battering losses and dwindling Dreamcast market support, will soon begin creating software on the PlayStation 2 platform. According to Jiji, this move is part of a massive company restructuring that will be officially announced before the end of the month. Development for Microsoft’s Xbox will also reportedly come under consideration.
When asked for a comment, Heather Hawkins, Marketing Communications Manager for Sega of America, replied, “Our official stance is to not comment on rumors. These are just more of the same [rumors] that have been floating around for a while.”
Rumors of imminent earth-shattering events at Sega have run wild for several weeks now — Sega had to deny that Nintendo was going to buy them after a year-end New York Times report alleged that negotiations were underway. News of Sega’s PS2 support had popped up on Japanese game-news sites early Monday, but Jiji is the first reliable source to divulge the info.
And then, later in the day, this was reported…
According to the Nikkei, Sega of Japan will not only make software for other systems, such as the PlayStation 2 and the Game Boy Advance, but also will cease all production of the Dreamcast console by the end of March. Sega will market the machine through fiscal 2001, but will stop once inventory is thoroughly depleted. Despite ceasing production, Sega still will support the system with software in 2001, and expects to release around 100 titles throughout the year (presumably first-and second-party titles). This report also provides more information on Sega’s plans to develop for other consoles. The company is reported to have at least five titles in development for the PlayStation 2 and two titles for Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance, which launches on March 21 in Japan.
Earlier today, Sega of America Marketing Communications Manager Heather Hawkins told us, “Our stance is to not comment on rumors. These are just more of the same [rumors] that have been floating around for a while.” But with multiple reliable Japanese news sources (like Yahoo! Japan, Jiji, Nihon Keizai Shimbun and Nikkei), it seems irrefutable that Sega is indeed abandoning the hardware market and changing its strategy to a multiplatform software approach.
Sega of America will have a more official statement for the press later today. We’ll keep you posted.
Well, this is big news, and will soon get much reaction after Sega releases their official statement…
Credit:Gamers.com