In a new press release issued by SEGA of America, they have announced that the acquisition of Atlus Co. Ltd (Japan) and Atlus U.S.A. in 2013 has been finalized, and as a result SEGA of America will now be the sole company responsible for publishing duties in North America. However, they made it clear that this is a change in name only, and both companies will be operating autonomously as before. As such, Atlus will remain as an individual brand, separate from SEGA. The press release also noted that the new SEGA of America offices are located in Los Angeles and Irvine, California.
Naoto Hiraoka, CEA of Atlus U.S.A., highlighted how the merger has been an improvement for both companies:
“After nearly a year working under the SEGA Games division, both SEGA of America and Atlus U.S.A. have thrived and released a combined total of 23 game products,” said Naoto Hiraoka, CEO, Atlus U.S.A., Inc. “Between ATLUS’ ability to localize and release Japanese video game products efficiently and the strength of SEGA of America’s reputation as a leading publisher in the industry, the situation could not be more symbiotic for both companies.”
SEGA also announced that they have appointed Ivo Gerscovich as the senior vice president of SEGA of America and the new head of the Sonic business unit, wherein he will serve as as the chief brand officer of Sonic. At the same time, Takashi Iizuka, vice president of product development, has transitioned from the SEGA headquarters in Japan to the Sonic business unit in SEGA of America’s Los Angeles office. From there, he will be managing everything related to Sonic entertainment and products.
Tatsuyuki Miyazaki, CEO of SEGA of America, also commented on the changes and is confident that this will be a “new age” for SEGA of America:
“There were challenging times for SEGA of America in San Francisco, but now I am confident that the collaboration between SEGA and Atlus U.S.A. will make us a uniquely positioned publisher poised to deliver top quality games from Japan,” said Tatsuyuki Miyazaki, CEO of SEGA of America and ATLUS U.S.A. board member. “Plus, the Sonic business team, with Ivo’s strong leadership and the addition of renowned Sonic Team creator Iizuka in the Los Angeles office, SEGA of America is in the best position yet to diversify and grow its business. SEGA of America is entering new age of publishing, and going back to the road to prosperity.”
When we first learned that SEGA would be acquiring Atlus, we were hoping that Atlus U.S.A.’s experience would help SEGA of America bring more niche Japanese SEGA games our way, and it appears this is exactly what’s happening. Even games like 7th Dragon III Code VFD are now being localized, making it the first title in the franchise to make it to the Americas. We hope SEGA Europe will follow suit and bring all these games to Europe as well!