14 DAY TRIAL // SEGA Sammy has announced that it is preparing itself for a loss of 7.1 billion Yen, which is the equivalent of 85.3 million dollars (63.9 million Euro), which it has described as extraordinary, mostly because of its video games division’s lower-than-expected performance.
The loss will be officially reported after March 31 of this year, when the current fiscal year is set to end, and will lead to a serious restructuring effort at SEGA.
An official statement from SEGA reads, “Amid such business environment, the Company decided to implement structural reform of the Consumer Business at Sega Corporation to strive for a shift to a structure corresponding to the market environment for the purpose of earnings recovery in the following period and after.”
It adds, “In accordance with the decision, the Company is expected to record extraordinary loss totaling around 7.1 billion yen, including costs in line with the streamlining of organizations and the canceling of development of some game software and costs for processing inventory.”
SEGA has stated that it will rely on already established intellectual properties, like Sonic the Hedgehog, Football Manager, Total War and Aliens.
The company implies that development efforts on other franchises, unnamed at the moment, will be terminated.
Job losses at its development studios will accompany the restructuring process, although SEGA has not said exactly how many people will be out of a job.
This year the company has confirmed that it will be launching a Aliens: Colonial Marines, which is being developed by Gearbox, a fresh take on the well-known mythology that allows players to fight some of the creatures in the series and new enemies designed by the development team.
SEGA is also preparing to announce new video games that use Sonic the Hedgehog as the main character, although it is not clear whether the company plans new products or more remakes.