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- Interview with COO「SEGA CORPORATION NAOYA TSURUMI」
The first task is to return the company to profitability in fiscal 2013, ending March 31, 2013, based on the reinforced earnings structure we have created by reforming the Consumer Business segment.Moreover, my mission is to put SEGA back on track for stable growth.
SEGA's founding principle is CREATION IS OUR LIFE. SEGA used to be an “innovative” company, consistently providing products ahead of its time. In recent years, however, I sense the company's innovative DNA has weakened. Fear of taking risks leads to missed business opportunities. Therefore, I want to return to our origins and establish a fertile corporate culture that encourages us to take on challenges without fear of failure. This will enable us to once again create the highly original entertainment that is SEGA's hallmark. The need for creativity is not limited to development divisions. Our sales and corporate divisions must draw on their ingenuity to heighten the efficiency of all operations. When communicating to the whole company, I express this as the need for “creative excellence.”
Slow decision-making is a major problem for SEGA. With this in mind, we are speeding up decision-making by delegating authority. As part of such efforts, we divested the main capabilities of our network business to establish SEGA Networks, Ltd., in July 2012.
Another important task is strengthening business development in overseas markets. In tackling this task, I am drawing on my overseas experience. I am urging the personnel of each business area to unearth business opportunities by seeing the whole world as a market, rather than only focusing on Japan.
In the Amusement Machine Sales Business segment, we will generate stable revenues by promoting the revenue-sharing business model in Japan. At the same time, we will take advantage of accumulated expertise and advance collaboration among development and sales divisions to step up the development of businesses overseas. In China's promising market, we will localize development, manufacturing, and sales to realize cost competitiveness in the local market while taking forward-looking strategic measures based on the introduction of such networking technologies as the ALL.Net network service.
Having reformed its earnings structure, the Amusement Center Operations segment will continue focusing on the profi tability of conventional amusement centers. In conjunction with these efforts,
we will develop new-concept theme park-type amusement centers. One such venture is the revamped TOKYO JOYPOLIS, unveiled in July 2012 and themed on “integrating the real with the digital.” In another initiative, we are collaborating with BBC Worldwide Limited to open an amusement center under the slogan “integrating nature with technology” in spring 2013. Meanwhile, we are going beyond the “games” category to enable unique experiences and generate new demand in such areas as golf and restaurants. A representative example of the success of these initiatives is DARTS LIVE, operated by DARTSLIVE Co., Ltd., in which real stores are integrated through a network.
As for the Consumer Business segment's packaged game software area, we will adhere steadfastly to a strategy of focusing exclusively on intellectual properties highly likely to produce hit products. For such priority intellectual property, we will maximize earnings by rolling it out laterally for a range of home video game consoles and personal computers (PCs) as well as for handheld game terminals, smartphones, and tablets while generating additional sales from downloadable content. Furthermore, we intend to shift the focus of these operations from the packaged game software area toward the digital game area, which comprises smartphones, PCs, and downloadable content.
In the current fiscal year, identifying and targeting growth areas, we will outline a profi le for our lineup of products and services over the coming two to three years and develop operations to realize this profile.
Due to the ease of access for players, the markets for smartphones and social games, which are available through social networking services (SNS), account for a diverse mix of players. In these markets, rather than competing in the same arena, SEGA is setting its sights on areas where it can draw on strengths in graphic-rich games with strong narratives. A prominent example of this strategy is Kingdom Conquest, which surpassed three million downloads worldwide in May 2012. An arcade game adapted for smartphones, Kingdom Conquest is packed with SEGA's expertise. It was the fi rst time anyone had released such a high-quality free-to-play game, and the game is a great example of customers endorsing SEGA's "innovation."
While focused on creating quality games, in addition to frequent players we will also view casual players-who comprise the majority of the market-as a key target. I believe seeking out more interesting games and more beautiful graphics is simply human nature. Additionally, the current trend toward self-regulation for games with a strong gambling element might become a tailwind for SEGA.
I want the development personnel of SEGA Networks, which leads the creation of SEGA's digital game software, to pursue new challenges ambitiously and in doing so rebuild our corporate culture
from scratch.
