Sega will close down one third of its arcade centres

Published: 09 March, 2009

Sega Sammy, which has released numerous renowned arcade games during the last 35 years, has finally been struck by the financial crisis. The firm announced on February 11th that it will gradually close down one third of its arcade outlets. This time last year, Sega announced the expansion of 110 arcades, but now challenged by the economic recession, it has to close down 100.

Because of the increasing prevalence of home game consoles, many arcade games have fewer patrons. Even Sega's core car racing and flight simulation games have seen a dramatic slide in play. After this mass shut down, Sega Sammy will only have 200-plus arcade centers left in Japan. In its heyday, Sega had 1,231 arcade outlets in 1993 because of the Street Fighter II frenzy. Sega's major competitor Namco Bandai has also had to remove idle machines and expensive games, which account for 20% of total games operated.

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