(also known as the Sega Sammy Group and generally Sega Sammy, stylized as SᴇɢᴀSammy) is a Japanese

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

formed from the merger of Sega and

Sammy Corporation is a Japanese developer and retailer of pachinko and pachislot machines, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its South Korean office, Sammy Amusement Service, is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Sammy is a subsidiary of the entertainment cong ...

in 2004. Both companies are involved in the

amusement Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or animal actively maintains the experience, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. It is an emotion with po ...

industry (Sega with

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

and

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s, Sammy with

pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...

machines).

Corporate history

Sega

Sega was founded on June 3, 1960, by American businessman Martin Bromley. The company started to distribute

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

s to U.S. bases in Japan. During the 1960s, Service Games was renamed to Sega Enterprises Ltd. Sega Enterprises sold their first product, the electro-mechanical game called ''Periscope'' which became a worldwide hit. In 1969, Sega Enterprises was acquired by U.S. conglomerate Gulf & Western Industries Inc. In 1983, Sega launched the Sega Computer Videogame SG-1000, the first 8-bit video game platform. In 1986, the CSK Group acquired Sega Enterprises through capital participation. Sega Europe Ltd. was established in Europe, and in 1985, Sega Enterprises Inc. was established in the United States. These regional subsidiaries served as a marketing base for amusement arcade machines. During 1985, Sega released ''

Hang-On is an arcade racing game released by Sega in 1985 and later ported to the Master System. In the game, the player controls a motorcycle against time and other computer-controlled bikes. It was one of the first arcade games to use 16-bit graph ...

'', the world's first force feedback game. Sega Enterprises was registered stock on over-the-counter (OTC) market. In 1988, Sega listed stock on the second section of Tokyo Stock Exchange. Within this year, Sega released the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, a 16-bit home video game platform that solidified Sega's presence in the console market. During this year, Sega also launched the R-360, the world's first amusement arcade cabinet could rotate 360 degrees in all directions. In 1991, Sega released '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' as a competitor mascot to represent Sega against Nintendo's

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...

, and with 15 million copies sold, Sonic the Hedgehog spawned multiple sequels over the years and became Sega's flagship franchise. In 1992, Sega released ''

Virtua Racing ''Virtua Racing'', or ''V.R.'' for short, is a Formula One racing video game developed by Sega AM2 and released for arcades in 1992. ''Virtua Racing'' was initially a proof-of-concept application for exercising a new 3D graphics platform under ...

'' in order to utilise polygonal 3D-graphics engines, and in 1993, Sega released ''

Virtua Fighter is a series of fighting games created by Sega-AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original '' Virtua Fighter'' was released in October 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first ''Virtua Fighter'' ga ...

'', the world's first polygonal 3D fighting game. In 1994, Sega launched the Sega Saturn, a 32-bit home video game platform. In 1995, Sega launched Print Club Arcades in partnership with Atlus. In 1996, Sega released ''

Sakura Wars is a Japanese steampunk media franchise created by Oji Hiroi and owned by Sega. It is focused around a series of cross-genre video games. The first game in the series was released in 1996, with five sequels and numerous spin-off titles being ...

'', a Japan exclusive sim-based Strategy RPG that became a cultural phenomenon within Japan spawning a multi-media franchise. In 1997, Sega attempted to merge with toy manufacturer

Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...

with Sega as the surviving entity (which would be named Sega Bandai following the merger), but the deal eventually fell through. In 1998, Sega launched the Sega

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...

. In 2000, Sega Enterprises changed their name to Sega Corporation. During this year, Sega released '' Phantasy Star Online'', the first networked role-playing game (RPG) for home video game platforms. In 2001, Sega discontinued the Dreamcast and withdrew from the console hardware industry to become a third-party video game developer and publisher.

Sammy Corporation

Sammy Corporation was founded on November 1, 1975, as Sammy Industry Co., Ltd. by Japanese business magnate,

Hajime Satomi is a Japanese business magnate. Satomi is known as the founder of Sammy Corporation, which merged with the Japan-based video game and arcade game producer Sega to form the holding company Sega Sammy Holdings. History Hajime Satomi withdrew fr ...

. It was formed from Satomi Corporation's manufacturing and marketing divisions for amusement arcade machines. In the 1980s, Sammy marketed and sold Pachislot machines, and in the 1990s, Sammy expanded their portfolio by marketing and selling Pachinko machines. These two business ventures have been the primary pillar of Sammy Corporations revenue. During 1997, Sammy Industry Co., Ltd. changed its name to Sammy Corporation. By 2000, Sammy Corporation was listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 1st section, indicating it as a "large company". Outside of Pachinko and Pachislot industry, Sammy Corporation was also involved in the video game industry as a publisher for fighting games such as the ''

Guilty Gear is a series of fighting games by Arc System Works, created and designed by artist Daisuke Ishiwatari. The first game was published in 1998, and has spawned several sequels. It has also adapted to other media such as manga and drama CD. ''Gu ...

'' series (developed by

Arc System Works , commonly referred to as ArcSys, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher located in Yokohama. Founded by Minoru Kidooka in 1988, the company is known for arcade 2D fighting game franchises, including ''Guilty Gear'' and ''BlazBlue'', a ...

), The ''

Rumble Fish ''Rumble Fish'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the 1975 novel '' Rumble Fish'' by S. E. Hinton, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. The film stars Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Vincent Spa ...

'' series (developed by

Dimps is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka, Japan, with an additional office in Tokyo. It is best known for developing games in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Street Fighter'' franchises. The company was founded on Marc ...

) and ''

Survival Arts is a 1993 fighting arcade game developed by Scarab and published by Sammy. It uses digitized images of real actors with blood and gore, similar to Midway's arcade hit '' Mortal Kombat''. Ports for the Super NES and Sega Genesis were annou ...

''.

Later years

According to the first Sega Sammy ''Annual Report'', the merger of the two companies happened due to the companies facing difficulties. According to chairman

, Sega had been in the red for nearly 10 years and lacked a clear financial base. Sammy, on the other hand, feared stagnation and overreliance of its highly profitable pachislot and pachinko machine business, and wanted to diversify its business in new fields, using Sega's broader range of involvement in different entertainment fields. Together, as the Sega Sammy group, the company has grown and acquired and founded multiple companies. Until 2015, the group was structured in four areas: * The "Consumer Business", which contained video games, toys and animation. * The "Amusement Machine Business" which contained Sega's arcade business. * The "Amusement Center Business" which contained Sega's amusement centers and theme parks. * The "Pachislot and Pachinko Business" is the Sammy Corporation and is the main pillar of the group's revenue. For the better half of the first decade of the holding's existence it has sought the arcade machine sales of Sega and the pachinko sales of Sammy, as its biggest financial incentive. A shift happened in the 2010s, leading to the "Group Structure Reform" in 2015. Casinos, resorts and digital games became the biggest financial incentives. Arcade sales and packaged games from Sega has softened, while growth in pachinko sales is not anticipated. On December 22, 2010, Sega Sammy Holdings acquired the remaining outstanding shares of

TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946. TMS is one of the oldest and most famous anime studios in Japan, best known for numerous anime franchises such as '' Lupin the Third' ...

, thus making TMS Entertainment a wholly owned subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings. In April 2017,

Marza Animation Planet is a Japan-based CGI animation studio dedicated to making full-length feature films and video game cutscenes. Their extensive résumé includes CGI add-ins for television series and video games. Their head office is located on the 18th floor ...

, Sega's CGI animation studio, was restructured into TMS Entertainment. On November 4, 2020, it was announced that SEGA SAMMY will sell 85.1% of Sega Entertainment, its arcade business, to Genda Inc. (an amusement equipment rental business) due to the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

on its arcade and amusement facilities businesses. Sega will still be involved in the arcade business as Sega Entertainment only creates and operates arcade locations while Sega itself manufactures and sells arcade machines. In 2021, it was announced that Sega Sammy would be a kit sponsor for J2 League club

Tokyo Verdy is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country. Founded as Yomiuri F.C. in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, with ...

, and their women's team,

Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza is a women's football team which plays in Japan's WE League. History The club was founded as named ''Yomiuri SC Ladies Beleza'' as women's club of Yomiuri SC (currently ''Tokyo Verdy'') by Yomiuri Shimbun in 1981.FC Machida Zelvia is a Japanese football club based in Machida, Tokyo. History Machida is known as "Brazil of Tokyo" due to the popularity of football in the city; it has, in fact, produced the second-largest number of J. League players though its football sch ...

Structure

Pachislot and Pachinko machine business

These are the companies and subsidiaries affiliated with Sega Sammy Group's pachislot and pachinko machine business. *

* Sammy NetWorks Co., Ltd. * Ginza Corporation * RODEO Co., Ltd. * Taiyo Elec Co., Ltd.

Entertainment contents business

The entertainment contents business provides a diverse range of entertainment from digital content to toys. These are the companies and subsidiaries affiliated with Sega Sammy Group's entertainment contents business. * Sega Group Corporation ** Atlus ***

Atlus USA Atlus West, formerly known as Atlus U.S.A., Inc., is the North American publishing branch of Japanese video game company Atlus, primarily known for localizing games for both them and other third-party developers. Its first original role-playing ...

Sega Corporation is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

*** Sega of America, Inc. **** Ignited Artists *** Sega Europe Ltd. ****

Amplitude Studios Amplitude Studios SASU is a French video game developer based in Paris. The studio was founded in January 2011 by former Ubisoft employees Romain de Waubert de Genlis and Mathieu Girard, and was acquired by Sega in June 2016. Amplitude is now a ...

****

Creative Assembly The Creative Assembly Limited (trade name: Creative Assembly) is a British video game developer based in Horsham, founded in 1987 by Tim Ansell. In its early years, the company worked on porting games to MS-DOS from Amiga and ZX Spectrum platfor ...

***** Creative Assembly Sofia ****

Hardlight Hardlight (stylised as HARDlight) is a British video game developer founded by Sega and based in Leamington Spa, England. Revealed in January 2012, it is focused on mobile games for smartphones and has become one of Sega's five studios under S ...

****

Relic Entertainment Relic Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as THQ Canada Inc.) is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver, founded in 1997. The studio specializes in real-time strategy games and is known for series such as ''Homeworld'', '' Warhammer 40 ...

**** Sports Interactive **** Two Point Studios *** Sega Korea Co., Ltd. *** Sega Shanghai Co., Ltd. ** Play Heart, Inc. ** Sega Logistics Service Co., Ltd. *** Sega Amusements Europe Ltd. *** Sega Amusements Taiwan Ltd. ** Dartslive Co., Ltd. *** DARTSLIVE INTERNATIONAL Ltd *** iDarts Group Ltd. *** DARTSLIVE ASIA Ltd. *** DARTSLIVE USA, INC *** DARTSLIVE EUROPE LTD. ** TMS Entertainment Co., Ltd. *** Jinni's Inc. *** Marza Animation Planet, Inc. *** Telecom Animation Film Co., Ltd. *** TMS Entertainment USA, Inc. *** TMS Music Co., Ltd. **** TMS Music (HK) Ltd. **** TMS Music (UK) Ltd. *** TMS Photo Co., Ltd. *** TOCSIS INC. **

Sega Toys is a Japanese toy company and animation studios, owned by Sega Sammy Holdings. The company was founded when Yonezawa Toys, Japan's largest post-war toy manufacturer, was absorbed into Sega in 1991 as Sega-Yonezawa. Sega Toys have created toys fo ...

*** Sega Toys (Hk) Co., Ltd.

Resort business

These are companies charged with operating the Sega Sammy Group's resorts, hotels, golf courses, entertainment and commercial facilities, and casinos. * PHOENIX RESORT CO., LTD. * PARADISE SEGASAMMY Co., Ltd. * Sega Sammy Golf Entertainment Inc.

Other Group Companies

* Music Publishing Label ** Wave Master Inc. * Casino machines ** Sega Sammy Creation Inc.

Related companies

Current affiliates

ENGI , also known as Entertainment Graphic Innovation, or Studio ENGI, is a Japanese animation studio founded by Kadokawa, Sammy Corporation, and Ultra Super Pictures, and is a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation. History On April 4, 2018, Kadokawa e ...

(Sammy owns 40% of the company, with Kadokawa Corporation owning 53% while making it a direct subsidiary and

Ultra Super Pictures is a Japanese joint holding company established in 2011 by animation studios Sanzigen, Ordet, Trigger and Liden Films. They also co-own a part of ENGI, a studio established by Kadokawa in 2018. Member studios * Sanzigen * Ordet * Trigger ...

having 5%) * Sanrio Co., Ltd. (formerly held 13.9%, now hold 10.6% of the company) * Sega Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Majority stake sold in 2020; Still owns 14.9%) ** Oasis Park Co., Ltd. *

CA Sega Joypolis CA Sega Joypolis Ltd. (formerly Sega Live Creation Inc.) is a subsidiary of the Chinese company China Animations Character Co., which controls Sega-branded Amusement Parks in Asia, such as Joypolis. History The company was originally founded in ...

(14.9% minority ownership, the rest of the company is owned and operated by China Animations Character Co.)

Former affiliates and/or subsidiaries

* Sammy Studios (now

High Moon Studios High Moon Studios, Inc. (formerly Sammy Entertainment Inc. and Sammy Studios, Inc.) is an American video game developer initially formed in 2001. After nearly a year as an independent studio, the developer was acquired by Vivendi Games in Janua ...

) * SI Electronics Ltd. *

SIMS Co., Ltd. , which stands for "Soft Development Innovation Multi Success", is a Japanese video game publisher and developer originally established on June 12, 1991 as a joint venture of Sanritsu Denki Co., Ltd. and Sega Enterprises, Ltd. About 50 employe ...

Index Corporation , formerly known as , is a Japanese corporate information and communications technology company owned by Sawada Holdings. "Index Corporation" was a corporate name used by three different Japanese companies, between 1997 and 2016, the last one be ...

** Index Asia Co, Ltd. *

Technosoft was a Japanese video game developer and publisher based headquartered in Sasebo, Nagasaki. Also known as "Tecno Soft", the company was founded in February 1980 as Sasebo Microcomputer Center, before changing its name to Technosoft in 1982. The c ...

Visual Concepts Visual Concepts Entertainment is an American video game developer based in Novato, California. Founded in May 1988, the company is best known for developing sports games in the ''2K'' franchise, most recently ''NBA 2K'' and '' WWE 2K'', and pr ...

(Sold to

Take-Two Interactive Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City and founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993. The company owns two major publishing labels, Rockstar Games and 2K, which operate internal ...

) * Dimps Corporation (Sega and Sammy were major shareholders at one point, along with Bandai Namco Entertainment and Sony Interactive Entertainment) * Japan Multimedia Services Corporation * HONEST Co., LTD. * InfiniTalk Co., Ltd. * patina Co., Ltd. * D×L CREATION Co., Ltd. * Butterfly Corporation * f4samurai, Inc. * Sega Sammy BUSAN INC.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Tokyo, Japan, Companies, Video games Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Conglomerate companies based in Tokyo Japanese companies established in 2004 Holding companies based in Tokyo Holding companies established in 2004 Keiretsu Software companies based in Tokyo Video game companies established in 2004 Video game companies of Japan