Sega to close Australian and multiple European offices

Sega has today announced the news that it will close multiple of its regional offices as it restructures itself to become a more digital focused publisher.

Sega will close offices in France, Germany, Spain, Benelux and here in Australia too. Marketing and sales will be handed over to other companies. Sega Australia reopened in 2007 after years of absence when it left the hardware game, we’re sad to see it go.

The reason for the closes is that Sega is now putting digital content first and will only release a handful of boxed products per year. With a more digital approach more feet on the ground won’t be needed. Sega calls the move ‘painful’ but also ‘logical’ in a interview with MCV.

“It’s painful, it’s not an easy process, and we have had to make a lot of changes,”  Sega Europe’s COO Jurgen Post told MCV.

“But we had to do it. We have been looking at past results, and as we all know the market is tough at the moment, it’s polarising so the bigger games are getting bigger and it’s harder to break new IP.

The business is shifting so fast we had to make the decision. It was inevitable: we couldn’t continue like we were before.”

Sega will now focus on four of its big IPs. These are Sonic, Total War, Football Manager and Aliens of which 65% of its business is generated. The move to digital means you’ll see more of these titles on platforms such as iPhone and Android.

It’s a tough world out there in the video game market, Sega isn’t alone in efforts to slim down, THQ has done much the same but has instead gone ‘hardcore’ in its offerings.

Our thoughts go out to our Sega Australia friends who have been great supporters of Vooks.