SEGA told investors in its recent financial report that it plans to continue exploring studio acquisitions following past success. The company is eyeing developers that “show potential, both in Japan and abroad.”
SEGA believes that its acquisitions have “steadily expanded” its global reach. Using Atlus as an example, the report said that not only did the company benefit from “world-class” Atlus IPs, it also took advantage of Atlus’ localization capabilities for its franchises like Yakuza and Hatsune Miku.
The report reads:
I think back to when we acquired and consolidated Atlus. This brought us two major benefits. One was the highly appealing, world-class IPs Atlus had developed in the role-playing game genre. The other was the solid localization capabilities of the U.S.-based site. Drawing on these localization capabilities, very Japanese IPs like YAKUZA and HATSUNE MIKU have been translated using expressions that really resonate with local users, which has enhanced game quality. The outcome of this is clearly evident in the rising Metacritic scores, which in turn is leading to growing sales in overseas markets. These kinds of acquisitions that enhance our functionality will definitely be a major strength in the long run, and we will continue to proactively explore investments from this point of view.
SEGA owns multiple studios in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. The company noted that each studio’s IPs have been successful in various regions, and are currently “playing a pivotal role in our worldwide expansion.”
“The development studio network SEGA has built up is among the largest of any Japanese game company,” the report concluded.
[Source: SEGA]
