Sega shuttering several offices across Europe and Australia

Posted Jun 28th 2012 11:00AM by Ben Gilbert

Sega's European arm is closing offices in four European regions and Australia, the company announced this morning. The move is part of Sega's continued "restructuring" toward a smaller company – a result of "extraordinary" losses incurred over the past few years. Sega offices in France, Spain, Benelux, Germany, and Australia are being closed.

Taking up distribution responsibilities in lieu of Sega is Koch Media, parent company of Dead Island publisher Deep Silver, who will handle things in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, and Spain. Handling Benelux and Australia are Level03 Distribution and 5 Star Games, while Sega's London office will remain open in an oversight capacity.

Sega Europe COO Jurgen Post reconfirmed Sega's commitment to its core IPs in the announcement. "SEGA is entering a new and exciting phase that will position the company as a content led organisation maximising sales with strong and balanced IP such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Football Manager and the Aliens franchise." He also noted Sega's "confident that this will lead to a successful future."

It's at this time unclear how many Sega employees were let go in today's office closures, but we've reached out to the company for more info.
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SEGA REVIEWS THEIR EUROPEAN STRUCTURE

Distribution partners in place across Europe

LONDON – 28th June 2012 – SEGA® Europe today confirmed that as a result of the recent restructure it will be shifting business to focus on developing new and existing digital content as well as driving key IP for packaged goods. SEGA has therefore realigned its business strategy and will be closing their offices in France, Germany, Spain, Australia and Benelux.

Koch Media have been appointed to assist SEGA with distribution across Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and Spain of packaged goods, Level03 Distribution and 5 Star Games will assist with distribution across Benelux and Australia respectively which will be implemented from the 1st July 2012.

All other territories will continue to be run through the same channels as before, and along with Koch, Level03 and 5 Star, will be managed through the SEGA Europe Headquarters based in London.

"SEGA is entering a new and exciting phase that will position the company as a content led organisation maximising sales with strong and balanced IP such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Football Manager and the Aliens franchise", commented Jurgen Post, COO of SEGA Europe. "The company will benefit from a clear focus and realigned strategy for our digital business and packaged goods and we are confident that this will lead to a successful future."

SEGA will continue the sales, marketing and distribution of London 2012™ - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games which will be launched on the 28th June in Australia and the 29th June across Europe for PC, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

About SEGA® Europe Ltd.:
SEGA® Europe Ltd. is the European Distribution arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA® Corporation, and a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. SEGA Europe's web site is located at www.sega.com.

About Five Star Games® Pty Ltd:
Five Star Games Pty Ltd is founded by Darren Macbeth the ex -Managing Director of SEGA Australia and prior to that MD of Ubisoft Australia. Five Star is focused exclusively on selling, marketing and distributing premium quality video games in the Australian market.

Level03 Distribution®:
Level03 Distribution is the new turnkey solution in the Benelux that ensures the best possible attention, visibility and results for your products. Level03 provides the following services: sales, marketing/pr and distribution. Level03 has a strong focus on entertainment related products such as video games, gaming peripherals and merchandise. More information: www.level03.com.

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