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.