Sega Sammy Holdings

Sega was established in Japan in 1951 under the name Service Games when Richard Stewart and Ray LeMaire went to Tokyo under Martin Bromley's request to gain a new distributor for the company. The company started to distribute coin-operated slot machines 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.[4]

During 1985, Sega released Hang-On, 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, and with 15 million copies sold, Sonic the Hedgehog spawned multiple sequels over the years and became Sega's flagship franchise.[4]

In 1992, Sega released Virtua Racing in order to utilise polygonal 3D-graphics engines, and in 1993, Sega released Virtua Fighter, the world's first polygonal 3D fighting game. The Virtua Fighter series resulted in various world records including "First Polygon Based Fighting Game", "First 3D Fighting Game", and "First Fighting Game for a 32-bit Console". 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, a Japan exclusive sim-based Strategy RPG that became a cultural phenomenon within Japan spawning a multi-media franchise. In 1998, Sega launched the Sega Dreamcast. 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.[4]

Sammy Corporation was founded in 1975 as Sammy Industry Co., Ltd. by Japanese Business magnate, Hajime Satomi. 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".[5] 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 series (developed by Arc System Works), The Rumble Fish series (developed by Dimps) and Survival Arts.

According to the first Sega Sammy Annual Report, the merger of the two companies happened due to the companies facing difficulties. According to chairman Hajime Satomi, Sega had been in the red for nearly 10 years[6] 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 divesify its business in new fields, using Sega's broader range of involvement in different entertainment fields.[7]

Together, as the Sega Sammy group, the company has grown and acquired and founded multiple companies.[8] The former Sega Sammy logo was a design based on the letter "S", the initial letter of both companies’ names. The synergy generated by the integration of the two companies are represented by a combination of blue and green, which are the companies’ corporate colors. Furthermore, in the logo, a curved line that suggests the horizon linking the words Sega and Sammy symbolizes the companies’ collaboration, and the Sega Sammy Group's determination to develop globally.[9]

Until 2015, the group was structured in four areas:[10]

• 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 are now the biggest financial incentives. Arcade sales and packaged games from Sega has softened, while growth in pachinko sales is not anticipated.[11]

Today, the group is structured around the entertainment, resort and pachinko/pachislot industries. With the exception of Sega's theme park business (Sega Live Creation), the consumer, amusement machine and amusement center businesses are in the entertainment sector of the group, led by Sega.[12]

On December 22, 2010, Sega Sammy Holdings acquired the remaining outstanding shares of TMS Entertainment, thus making TMS Entertainment a wholly owned subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings.[13] In April 2017, Marza Animation Planet, Sega's CGI animation studio, was restructured into TMS Entertainment.[14]

These are the companies and subsidiaries affiliated with Sega Sammy Group's pachislot and pachinko machine business.[16]

• Sammy Corporation
• Ginza Corporation
• RODEO Co., Ltd.
• Taiyo Elec Co., Ltd.

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.[17]

• Holding companies
  • Sega Group Corporation
• Video game software
  • Sega Corporation
    • Sega of America, Inc.
      • Atlus USA
    • Sega Europe Ltd.
      • Amplitude Studios
      • Creative Assembly
        • Creative Assembly Sofia
      • Hardlight Studio
      • Relic Entertainment
      • Sports Interactive
      • Two Point Studios
    • Sega Korea Co., Ltd.
    • Sega Shanghai Co., Ltd.
    • Atlus
• Digital contents
  • Butterfly Corporation
  • f4samurai, Inc.
  • Sammy NetWorks Co., Ltd.
  • Sega Digital Studio
• Amusement machine production
  • Sega Corporation
  • 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.
• Amusement center operations
  • Sega Entertainment Co.,Ltd.
    • Oasis Park Co., Ltd.
• Animation and related Production
  • TMS Entertainment Co., Ltd.
    • Jinni's Inc.
    • Marza Animation Planet, Inc.
    • Liverpool Co., Ltd.
    • 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.
• Toy Production
  • Sega Toys Ltd.
    • Sega Toys (Hk) Co., Ltd.
• Casino machines
  • Sega Sammy Creation Inc.

• Resorts
  • PHOENIX RESORT CO.,LTD.
  • PARADISE SEGASAMMY Co.,Ltd.
  • Sega Sammy BUSAN INC.
  • Sega Sammy Golf Entertainment Inc.

• Call Center Outsourcing, Human Resources, Temporary Staffing, and other Business holdings
  • Japan Multimedia Services Corporation
  • HONEST Co.,LTD.
  • InfiniTalk Co.,Ltd.
  • patina Co., Ltd.
• Development of Stage and Performance programs
  • D×L CREATION Co., Ltd.

• ENGI (Sammy owns 40% of the company, with Kadokawa Corporation owning 53% while making it a direct subsidiary and Ultra Super Pictures having 5%)
• Sanrio Co., Ltd. (formerly held 13.9%, now hold 10.6% of the company[18])
• Dimps Corporation (Sega and Sammy are major shareholders, along with Sony Computer Entertainment and Bandai Namco)

• Sammy Studios
• Sega Live Creation Inc.
• SI Electronics Ltd.
• SIMS Co., Ltd.
• Index Corporation
  • Index Asia Co, Ltd.
• Technosoft
• Visual Concepts