From SegaWeb…
Sony will be publishing Sega’s first seven PlayStation 2 titles in Europe, the two companies announced jointly today. Sega will turn over the publishing, advertising, and distribution reigns over to Sony in the territory, who will distribute the titles in five languages. The titles include the previously announced Virtua Fighter 4, K-Project, and Space Channel 5 games; the four new games are Ecco the Dolphin, F-355, Head Hunter, and a second Space Channel 5 title.
At least two of the seven titles will be released this year, though which ones were not specified. It is unknown if the confirmation of Head Hunter coming to the PS2 will impact the Dreamcast version of the title.
The partnership was made for a number of reasons, not the least of which being logistics. “Since we do not have our own marketing network in Europe, we decided to have SCE to handle distribution of our games for PlayStation 2,” a Sega spokesman said. While Sega will continue to distribute their own Dreamcast titles in Europe, the additional titles will not put a strain on the company, which is currently undergoing a major reorganization. Whether the partnership will be renewed after these seven games are released was not addressed.
This is the third major partnership between Sega and Sony this year. In February they announced plans to co-develop a network of arcades using Sony’s PS2-based arcade technology, and earlier this month announced plans to create cross-platform online titles for consoles and PC. The latest announcement was made after the stock market had closed in Tokyo, though Sega’s share price rose nearly 2 percent prior the announcement, following weeks of declines.
For those keeping track, Sega has also announced a Sakura Wars title, two ‘Let’s Make a Sports Team’ games, an online horse derby title, Guru Guru Onsen 2, and two Sega Sports games (NBA and NFL) for the PS2, bringing the total number of announced Sega games coming to PS2 up to 14.
Source: SegaWeb