Sega scores Sports Interactive

[Tom]

taken from Gamespot:

UK-based Football Manager developer acquired by Sega Europe

Sega Europe has today announced its acquisition of developer Sports Interactive. Best known for its Football Manager (Worldwide Soccer Manager in North America) series, the London-based software house--which previously worked on the Championship Manager games published by Eidos--will now develop exclusively for Sega, with upcoming titles including Football Manager 2006 for the Xbox 360 and Football Manager Handheld for the PSP.

"[Sega Europe] was right for the next chapter in Sports Interactive's history, with more releases from the studio this year than ever before," commented Miles Jacobson, managing director of Sports Interactive. In addition to the aforementioned football management titles, upcoming games from Sports Interactive include Out of the Park Baseball and the next instalment of the NHL: Eastside Hockey Manager series.

taken from sigames.com:

LONDON (April 4, 2006) – SEGA Holdings Europe Ltd., today announced that the company has acquired the multi award-winning development studio, Sports Interactive. Founded in 1994 by Paul and Oliver Collyer and operating from offices in Islington, North London, the brothers are the talented creators behind the hugely successful Football Manager™ series - which with only two titles from the franchise released so far, has sold in excess of 1.5million copies and became the second fastest selling PC game of all time in the UK.

The groundbreaking deal sees SEGA acquiring a company that has maintained the heritage and experience accumulated through many years of development, Sports Interactive have produced titles that have enjoyed an unparalleled history of commercial and critical success. SEGA will empower the team to continue on their existing development path whilst also expanding their resources for the future.

The world’s leading developer of Sports Management simulations joins recently acquired, The Creative Assembly to add to SEGA’s list of undisputable development talent. This new deal continues to highlight SEGA’s emphasis on western development and adds yet more weight to SEGA’s own long-term strategic vision. SEGA will continue to support Sports Interactive to develop NHL: Eastside Hockey Manager, Out of the Park Baseball and the Football Manager™ series, as well as exploring ambitious new ventures.

“Football Manager is an extremely successful brand for SEGA and one of the most significant titles for our European line-up,” commented Naoya Tsurumi – CEO: SEGA Europe Ltd. & SEGA of America, Inc. “This acquisition illustrates that we are achieving our objectives and have our strategic planning up and running. Although we still have a lot more to do, we feel that this is yet another huge step towards strengthening our standing within the European market.”

“We acquired Sports Interactive because SEGA has the utmost respect for the Collyer’s, Miles Jacobson and the Sports Interactive team for what they have achieved. The company is built up of highly talented individuals that have and continue to produce award-winning titles”, commented Mike Hayes, President & COO of SEGA Europe Ltd. “Our objective, as with The Creative Assembly, is to work with the team and build upon their successes as we strive to produce the highest quality games for our consumers”.

Miles Jacobson, Managing Director of Sports Interactive adds, “From our first meeting with SEGA, it felt like “home”- they really understand development and it’s an honour to get to work with the overwhelming pool of talent from both the development and publishing side. The partner was right for the next chapter in Sports Interactive’s history, with more releases from the studio this year than ever before. Myself, Ov, Paul and the SI team are all really excited about the future.”

The first titles to be released under the new partnership will be Football Manager™ 2006 for Xbox 360™and Football Manager Handheld for the PSP™ portable entertainment system, both out for release on April 13th 2006.

 

[Dan the monkey]

Not sure what i think about this.

 

[Tom]

wont matter too much to be honest. Sports Interactive wont have gone through with the deal (knowing the kind of company they are) unless SEGA have given them 100% creative control with it, essentially, this wont effect us guys in the slightest. All it will effect is the business side of things, probably (and hopefully) making the games production smoother as there is less deals that have to be made between the two companies.

Dont expect any major staff changes, any major release changes or anything else of the sort. This isnt so much useful information, its just information that as FM players; you guys should know

 

[Filipower]

thanks mate, although it's true that the difference isn't very big..i mean, they were already publishing si games, so..but hey, maybe now we'll have sonic promoting FM

 

[Tom]

no they'll change slight things, maybe advertise differently, use different distribution methods. Hardly anything massive.

 

[Fernandez]

Just as long as FM is still there and unchanged will be good enough for me.

 

[rpvankasteren]

I'm thinking SI was growing too fast to keep up with itself; with SEGA in charge, they'll be able to outsource more marketing and distribution stuff, and be able to delve into the experiences and capabilities of other SEGA employees.

 

[Zlatan]

Well this might not have effect on the short-term. But maybe in the future they will start changing and I don't want to think about FM in Sonic (TM) style.

 

[Ebonix]

SEGA know a good game when they see one, with such a gaming pedigree, I think its a great move.

 

[Baz]

Just as long as FM is still there and unchanged will be good enough for me.

Aye, same here.

 

[Stotty]

ace, can't wait to sign kaka and start collecting them rings

 

[Áļéאָ]

i aint sure... this could be real bad.. mid-long term

 

[Filipower]

naah, we're all good...