Post by J is Justice on Jan 30, 2015 19:56:19 GMT -5
g.
arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/01/sega-cuts-hundreds-of-jobs-in-pcmobile-focused-restructuring/?comments=1
arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/01/sega-cuts-hundreds-of-jobs-in-pcmobile-focused-restructuring/?comments=1
Sega will be reducing its workforce significantly as it goes through a "group structure reform" to refocus on digital PC and mobile games, the Japanese publisher announced overnight.
As part of the plan, Sega will offer an early retirement package to "around 300" employees and seek to "rightsize" an undeclared number of other employees to reduce labor costs and streamline its packaged games business overseas. The company had about 2,200 employees as of the 2013 fiscal year.
Sega of America will also shut its San Francisco headquarters and move to southern California in a move to reduce fixed corporate expenses. A Sega representative tells Eurogamer that the restructuring will only affect "a limited number of staff" in Europe.
The staff reductions are part of a major pivot away from console games and toward "digital games, centered around smartphone and PC online gaming, as a growth area," as Sega put it. Sega has adapted a number of its popular franchises for mobile platforms in recent months, including Super Monkey Ball, Crazy Taxi, and a pair of Sonic titles.
Once a major player in the console hardware market, Sega has struggled to maintain its brand since becoming a third-party publisher in 2001. After being acquired by pachinko manufacturer Sammy in 2004, the company cut 400 jobs after an extremely weak fiscal performance in 2008.
While Sega's recent release of Creative Assembly's Alien: Isolation sold over a million copies, Wii U and 3DS exclusive Sonic Boom was savaged by critics and seems to have suffered on store shelves. Sega's Football Manager series remains a popular force in Europe, though, with annual releases still regularly appearing near the top of sales charts on the continent.
As part of the plan, Sega will offer an early retirement package to "around 300" employees and seek to "rightsize" an undeclared number of other employees to reduce labor costs and streamline its packaged games business overseas. The company had about 2,200 employees as of the 2013 fiscal year.
Sega of America will also shut its San Francisco headquarters and move to southern California in a move to reduce fixed corporate expenses. A Sega representative tells Eurogamer that the restructuring will only affect "a limited number of staff" in Europe.
The staff reductions are part of a major pivot away from console games and toward "digital games, centered around smartphone and PC online gaming, as a growth area," as Sega put it. Sega has adapted a number of its popular franchises for mobile platforms in recent months, including Super Monkey Ball, Crazy Taxi, and a pair of Sonic titles.
Once a major player in the console hardware market, Sega has struggled to maintain its brand since becoming a third-party publisher in 2001. After being acquired by pachinko manufacturer Sammy in 2004, the company cut 400 jobs after an extremely weak fiscal performance in 2008.
While Sega's recent release of Creative Assembly's Alien: Isolation sold over a million copies, Wii U and 3DS exclusive Sonic Boom was savaged by critics and seems to have suffered on store shelves. Sega's Football Manager series remains a popular force in Europe, though, with annual releases still regularly appearing near the top of sales charts on the continent.
