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Factory Spotlight: SEGA
The Little Hedgehog that Could
Date: 7-7-05 By: Ryan Cravens
SEGA is one of the most recognizable names in video games and it is a company with a long and rich history. SEGA was not started by the Japanese, it was founded by Martin Bromley and David Rosen, and the name came from the original name of the company SErvice GAmes. The company operated coin operated machines like cigarette machines, pinball machines and other devices in the United States.
David Rosen took the company to Japan in the 1950?s, (By this time, Bromley left to continue operating) where they started to manufacture their own jukeboxes and they eventually moved onto games. SEGA became a powerhouse in the 1980?s behind such hits as Out Run, After Burner and Shinobi. After this string of hits, SEGA was a pillar of the arcade industry and you could always count on them to produce games with great graphics and wonderful game play.
The 1990?s were a great time for the arcade side of the company, with games such as Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Cop and many sequels. SEGA even bought Data East?s pinball division and SEGA made some great pinball games in the late 1990?s. The consumer division did not fare as well after being beaten in the console wars and this loss put the company?s future in doubt.
Sammy recently merged with SEGA and this merger has put fears of SEGAs demise on hold for a very long time. Sammy is a company with a past in gaming machines such as pachinko and they have also made some great games in the past few years including Rumble Fish and Extreme Hunting. The video game division of the company has been branded SEGA and they have announced that they will be putting more effort into arcade games in the future.
Look for great games to come out soon including a sequel to the mega hit Derby Owners Club. The little blue hedgehog is going to be around for a long time and we wouldn?t have it any other way.
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