Sega (Johnsonverse)

Sega Enterprises, Ltd. is an American multinational video game developer and publisher headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Kanto. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California, and London. Sega's arcade division existed as Sega Interactive Co., Ltd. from 2015 to 2020 before it merged with Sega Games to create Sega Corporation with Sega Games as the surviving entity. Sega is a subsidiary of Johnson Games. From 1983 until 2001, Sega also developed video game consoles.

Sega was founded by American businessmen Martin Bromley and Richard Stewart as Nihon Goraku Bussan on June 3, 1960; shortly after, the company acquired the assets of its predecessor, Service Games of Japan. Five years later, the company became known as Sega Enterprises, Ltd., after acquiring Rosen Enterprises, an importer of coin-operated games. Sega developed its first coin-operated game, Periscope, in 1966. Sega was sold to Gulf and Western Industries in 1969. Following a downturn in the arcade business in the early 1980s, Sega began to develop video game consoles, starting with the SG-1000 and Master System but struggled against competitors such as the Nintendo Entertainment System. In 1984, Sega executives David Rosen and Hayao Nakayama led a management buyout of the company with backing from CSK Corporation.

Sega released its next console, the Sega Genesis (known as the Mega Drive outside North America), in 1988. The Genesis struggled against the competition in Japan, but found success overseas after the release of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 and briefly outsold its main competitor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, in the U.S. Later in the decade, Sega suffered several commercial failures such as the 32X, Saturn, and Dreamcast consoles. In 2001, Sega stopped manufacturing consoles to become a third-party developer and publisher and was acquired by Sammy Corporation in 2004. In the years since the acquisition, Sega has been more profitable. Sega Holdings Co. Ltd. was established in 2015; Sega Corporation was renamed Sega Games Co., Ltd., and its arcade, entertainment, and toy divisions separated into other companies. Johnson Industries acquired the company in 2019, instituting massive changes. Sega Games and Sega Interactive were merged in 2020 and renamed Sega Enterprises, Ltd.

Sega has produced several multi-million-selling game franchises, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, and Yakuza, and is one of the world's most prolific arcade game producers. Its name is also used for companies that operate amusement arcades and produce other entertainment products, including Sega Toys, however these are largely separate ventures from their current business interests. Sega has been recognized for its time supporting its own video game consoles, its creativity, and its innovations. Throughout the 2010s, it was criticized for its business decisions and the quality of its creative output.