List of Sega software development studios
- This article does not include information on Sega Hardware Development Teams or Sega Audio Studios.
 |
Please help improve this article by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (June 2007) |
 |
This article's tone or style may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (May 2009) |
 |
|
| Type | Privately held, Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer and video game industry |
| Headquarters | Japan, U.S., Europe |
| Key people | Yu Suzuki, Yuji Naka, Toshihiro Nagoshi, Mie Kumagi, Noryoshi Oba, Makoto Uchida, Rieko Kodama |
| Website | http://www.sega.com |
Sega has had in-house studios and subsidiary studios from 1983 to date.
Contents |
[edit] Sega Studios construct
In an interview with Sega-16, Mark Cerny explained the working construct of Sega Studios Japan during the pre- and post-Sega Master System days.
"They had one room with about forty people in it, and it was trying to make, in this one room, essentially all games that would be needed to launch and support the Master System. A typical project was one or two programmers, three months. And the pressure was very, very high.
But at the same time, we did some great work. And there were some very talented people, both Reiko Kodama and Yuji Naka were in this room, and Yu Suzuki was only two floors away, in the same building, reinventing arcade games."[1]
It can be assumed that until 1998 a rigid team structure was not followed, therefore members were not restricted to work only on their own studio's game. Hence, several different teams contributed in the development of a game where as only the dominant studio was credited. For example, Sega Technical Institute collaborated with studios such as Sonic Team and AM1 and produced multiple Sega games uncredited, such as the Sonic the Hedgehog games on the Mega Drive, and Die Hard Arcade on the Sega Saturn.
[edit] 1983–1990
[edit] Development Division
It appears that the development division was largely restricted to arcade development. However, there were some exceptions such as Sword of Vermilion which was designed from the ground up by DD #2 for Sega Mega Drive a home console.
| Department | Headed By | Notable Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Sega DD #1 | Sega's original Japanese development studio, spun off in 1990. | |
| Sega DD #2 | Yu Suzuki | Champion Boxing, Arcade (1984)
Space Harrier, Arcade (1985) Hang-On, Arcade (1985) OutRun, Arcade (1986) After Burner, Arcade (1987) Super Hang-On, Arcade (1987) After Burner II, Arcade (1987) Power Drift, Arcade (1988) Dynamite Dux, Arcade (1988) Turbo OutRun, Arcade (1988) Sword of Vermilion, Mega Drive (1989) G-LOC: Air Battle, Arcade (1990) GP Rider, Arcade (1990) G-LOC R-360, Arcade (1990) [2][3] |
| Sega DD #3 | Rikiya Nakagawa | Shinobi series |
[edit] Consumer Development Division
Shinobu Toyoda was the leader of Sega CD later known as AM8 and eventually Sonic Team. Under Toyoda's leadership project designer Naoto Oshima & lead programmer Yuji Naka pitched the idea of Sonic the Hedgehog as company mascot to Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama.[4]
| Department | Headed By | Notable Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Sega CD #1 | ||
| Sega CD #2 | Shinobu Toyoda[4] | Girl's Garden, SG-1000 (1984)
Great Baseball, Master System (1985) F-16 Fighting Falcon, Master System (1985) Hokuto no Ken (Black Belt), Master System (1985) Space Harrier, Master System (1986) OutRun, Master System (1986) Phantasy Star, Master System (1987) Super Thunder Blade, Genesis (1988) Phantasy Star II, Genesis (1989) Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Genesis (1989)[5] |
| Sega CD #3 | Noriyoshi Oba | Shinobi series |
[edit] 1990–1998
[edit] Amusement Machines Research & Development construct
Sega reorganized and expanded upon their R&D studios, and the Consumer Divisions and Development Divisions were all now renamed to Sega-AM Teams (Amusement Machine Research & Development Teams).
The AM structure wasn't adamantly followed, often games were developed by game titled teams such as Team Shinobi (AM7) and Sonic Team (AM8), while several members were from other internal and external studios.
The name "Sonic Team" has been used for AM8 since the inception of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991, but the team internally continued as AM8/STI until 1995, when they officially changed their name to Sonic Team.[6]. NiGHTS Into Dreams... was the first game to have the Sonic Team logo on the boxart, officially separating it from the Amusement Machine Research & Development teams[7].
[edit] Team list
[edit] Other studios
Camelot Software Planning was a subsidiary studio and not traditionally an in-house studio.
[edit] 1998–2004
[edit] Amusement Machines Research & Development Construct
Prior to the release of the Dreamcast, Sega converted all their in-house studios into 2nd Party Studios.
[edit] Studio list
[edit] Other studios
Visual Concepts was a team spun off from former EA Sports designers and a studio purchased by Sega Of America.
No Cliché was a studio purchased by Sega of Europe.
[edit] 2004–2009
Global Entertainment R&D Division, which was led by Yuji Naka until 2006, is now lead by Hiroyuki Miyazaki. "GE" focuses on developing video games for home consoles, handheld consoles and mobile phones. Due to the merger of the U.S. branch of Sonic Team with the rest of Sonic Team in 2008, Global Entertainment R&D Dept. is now lead by Takashi Iizuka, replacing Akinori Nishiyama.
| Department | Members From | Headed By | Notable Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Entertainment R&D Dept. | Sonic Team, ST USA, United Game Artists | Takashi Iizuka | Feel the Magic: XY/XX to Sonic Unleashed |
| Mobile Contents Development Dept. | New Studio | Kazunari Tsukamoto | Brain Trainer Portable |
Amusement Software R&D Division which focuses on the development of games for arcade and slot machines. The division is headed by Kazunori Tsukamoto.
| Department | Members From | Headed By | Notable Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| AM Software R&D Dept. 1 | WOW Entertainment + Overworks | Kazunori Tsukamoto | The House of the Dead 4 (2005), Valkyria Chronicles (2008), Seventh Dragon (2009) |
| AM Software R&D Dept. 2 | Sega-AM2 | Hiroshi Kataoka | Virtua Cop 3, Out Run 2 (2003), Virtua Fighter 5, After Burner Climax (2006) |
| AM Software R&D Dept. 3 | Hitmaker + Sega Rosso | Mie Kumagai | Virtua Tennis 3 (2006), Initial D Arcade Stage 4 (2007) |
| Family Entertainment R&D Dept. | New Studio | Hiroshi Uemura | Mushiking: King of the Beetles (2003), Oshare Majo: Love and Berry (2004), Dinosaur King (2007) |
New Entertainment R&D Division which is led by Yu Suzuki. "NE" focuses on development of new content for both arcade and consumer markets.
Yu Suzuki's NE#2 R&D has had several name changes from DigitalRex to AM+.
| Department | Members From | Headed By | Notable Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Entertainment R&D Dept. | Amusement Vision + Smilebit | Toshihiro Nagoshi | Yakuza series, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (2006) |
| New Entertainment R&D Dept. 2. | New Studio | Yu Suzuki | Virtua Striker 4 (2005), Psy-Phi (Cancelled) (2006), Sega Race TV (2008), Shenmue Online (Cancelled) |
| Sports Design R&D Dept. | Smilebit + Amusement Vision | Takayuki Kawagoe | Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007), Let's Make a J-League Pro Soccer Club series, Let's Make a J-League Baseball Team series |
[edit] 2009–present
Global Entertainment R&D Division changed its name to Consumer R&D Division, and New Entertainment R&D Division merged with Consumer R&D Division. The division is headed by Hiroyuki Miyazaki. Global Entertainment R&D Division is currently headed by Takashi Iizuka.[11] but New Entertainment R&D Dept. 2. merged into the Sega AM2 from Amusement R&D Division.
| Department | Members From | Headed By | Notable Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Entertainment R&D Dept. (Sonic Team) | same as before | Takashi Iizuka | Sonic and the Black Knight (2009), Puyo Puyo 7 (2009) |
| New Entertainment R&D Dept. | same as before | Toshihiro Nagoshi | Yakuza 3 (2009), Yakuza 4 (2009) |
| Sports Design R&D Dept. | same as before | Takayuki Kawagoe | Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009) |
| Sega Studios San Francisco | Secret Level | Darrin Stubbington | Golden Axe: Beast Rider, Iron Man (2008) |
| Mobile Contents Development Dept. | same as before | Kazunari Tsukamoto |
Amusement R&D Division which focuses on the development of games for arcade and slot machines. The division is headed by Yukio Sugino (General Manager), Hiroshi Kataoka (General Manager: Amusement Software R&D) and Masao Yoshimoto (General Manager: Amusement Related R&D).[12] and Consumer R&D Division 's New Entertainment R&D Dept. 2. merged into the Sega AM2.
| Department | Members From | Headed By | Notable Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| AM Software R&D Dept. 1 | same as before | Kazunori Tsukamoto | The House of the Dead 4 (Wii Version) |
| AM Software R&D Dept. 2 | same as before | Hiroshi Kataoka | |
| AM Software R&D Dept. 3 | same as before | Mie Kumagai | |
| Family Entertainment R&D Dept. | same as before | Hiroshi Uemura |
[edit] Acquired studios (2005–present)
| Department | Division | Year of purchase/founding | Notable Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Creative Assembly | Sega Europe, Sega Australia | 2005 | Total War series, Viking Battle for Asgard (2008) |
| Sports Interactive | Sega Europe | 2006 | Football Manager series |
| Prope | Sega Corporation (Japan) | 2006 | Let's Tap (2008) |
Prope is not acquired it is funded by Sega.
[edit] Affiliated studios
Sega began acquiring subsidiary studios in 1983, and founding subsidiary studios in 2005. These have been the cornerstone of an internal shift within Sega to appeal to a more Oriental and Western audience.
| Studio | History | Notable Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Amuze | Established in 1996 by John Kroknes and Stefan Holmqvist based in Solna, Sweden. Amuze is best known for developing the game Headhunter and its sequel both published by Sega. Headhunter Redemption marked the final game by the studio as they would later close down the Stockholm studio after a period of economic hardship. | Headhunter (2001)
Headhunter Redemption (2003) |
| Sega Racing Studio | Established in 2005 and headed by Guy Wilday (based in Solihull, England) for the sole purpose of developing AAA Sega racing titles. The team was called autonomous from Sega whilst still being part of the organization.[13][14]
On April 8, 2008 Sega announced the closure of Sega Racing Studio, although no reason was specified for the closure it has been assumed it was due to lackluster sales of Sega Rally Revo. On April 25, 2008, Codemasters bought Sega Racing Studio [15]. |
Sega Rally Revo (2007) |
| Sims | Joint venture of Sanritsu Denki Co., Ltd. and Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Formed in 1991, SIMS became independent of the Sega group on June 25, 2004, when Representative Director Noboru Machida took over all stock from the veteran game maker. [2] | Sega Bass Fishing series, Tails' Skypatrol (1995), Sega Marine Fishing (1999), Gain Ground (2004) |
| Sonic! Software Planning | Became independent of Sega in 1995, dividing between Camelot & Climax Entertainment.
Camelot made Shining games until 1998, but have not collabrated with Sega since Shining Force III and have formed a partnership with Nintendo[16]. Climax Entertainment made the last Shining Force spin-off with Sega for the Dreamcast (Time Stalkers) in 2000, but have not collabrated with Sega since[17]. |
Shining series & Spin-Off's |
| Nextech | Formerly known as GAU Entertainment and Nextech, is a Japanese video game developer. The company usually does not market or publish the games it develops, instead they primarily develop games for other companies on a contract basis. Their clients include Sega, Capcom, Namco, Takara, Taito, Atlus, and Square Enix.
Nex Entertainment was originally founded as GAU Entertainment. Two years afterwards, the company merged into Nextech, which was eventually bought by Sega in 1997.[18] Nex Entertainment emerged as a third-party developer in 2003. |
Ranger-X (1993), Crusader of Centy (1994), Cyber Speedway (1995), Dream Studio (2000), Shining Soul series |
| Blue Sky Software | Blue Sky Software was an American software company situated in California and formed in 1988. The company had a successful run for 12 years before closing down in March 2001, when parent company Interplay was in financial trouble. | Vectorman (1995), Vectorman 2 (1996), The Little Engine That Could (2010) |
| RED Entertainment | Sakura Taisen series, Gungrave series | |
| Megasoft (formerly Whiteboard, Santos) | Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, Aa Harimanada [MD] (1993) | |
| Access Games | Spy Fiction (2003) |
External studios
| Multimedia Studio | Jurassic Park (1992), Wild Woody (1995) |
| Midwest Studio | NHL All-Star Hockey '95 (1995), World Heroes |
| Sega Studios China | Partially involved in Project Altered Beast (2005), Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Nights Remake Version, Sonic Unleashed (2008) |
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=183&title=Interview:%20Mark%20Cerny
- ^ http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=31&title=Sega%20Stars:%20Yu%20Suzuki
- ^ http://www.system16.com/sega_developers.php#am2
- ^ a b http://sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=61&title=Genesis:%20A%20New%20Beginning
- ^ http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=42&title=Sega%20Stars:%20Yuji%20Naka
- ^ http://www.mywii.com.au/img/game/Ristar-1.jpg
- ^ http://videogamecentral.com/blog3/pics/nightsbox.jpg
- ^ http://www.system16.com/sega_developers.php#am1
- ^ http://www.system16.com/sega_developers.php#am3
- ^ http://www.system16.com/sega_developers.php#am4
- ^ http://www.segasammy.co.jp/english/pdf/release/20090331_e_.pdf
- ^ Hajime Satomi (June 18, 2008). "Sega Sammy Notice of Management Systems". http://www.segasammy.co.jp/english/pdf/release/notice06182008_management_systems.pdf.
- ^ Lap Two // Report // GamesIndustry.biz
- ^ [1]
- ^ IGN: Codemasters Buys SEGA Racing Studio
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelot_Software_Planning
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Stalkers
- ^ "NexTech Corporation". MobyGames.com. http://www.mobygames.com/company/nextech-corporation. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
