Rumor: Microsoft to purchase Sega?
Jun 15th, 2008 by admin
Submitted by videogame2play
Around the internet there is a rumor floating around that Microsoft may purchase Sega. Now this is only a rumor, with no official word from Microsoft this is only speculation at this point.
So it’s no surprise that rumours are once again circulating that Microsoft may be about to make a move for SEGA (now SEGA Sammy Corp). It’s certainly not the first time we’ve heard about such a move - the last mention of it being back in early 2004 when it was speculated upon on many industry sites such as The Register and Gamespot. When you think about it, such a move would make perfect sense.
Microsoft are expected to make a ’shocking and desperate’ announcement at this years E3 - all we know is that it will be software related and nothing to do with hardware. It’s also no secret that Microsoft has had a very hard time in Japan with the 360 - SEGA might be the very company to help turn that around.
SEGA has a huge back catalogue of titles that could be relied upon to help strengthen the Redmond giant in the land of the rising sun. Titles like Sonic, Daytona, Virtua Fighter, Sega Rally and of course the Panzer Dragoon series all have a serious following over there and having those exclusive to the Xbox platform would be a sure fire boost to the Xbox over the next few years.
SEGA Sammy shares have taken a battering over the last two years, dropping from a high of 2050,40yn down to 1020,00yn this week - that effectively halves the market value of the group making it an ideal takeover target.
Download SEGA Sammy Holdings 2007 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (pdf)
With SEGA Sammy reporting large losses (over $145 million USD - according to the 2007 report) there may be something to this rumor. With E3 right around the corner it will be interesting to see if this rumor turns into reality.
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