After revealing the fate of the English version of Valkyria Chronicles III, Sega's team manager of consoles sales Hiroshi Seno announced during a recent New Era Games Day event in Singapore that the Japanese headquarters of Sega will now focus on the Southeast Asian market.
According to Seno, the countries prioritised for this focus are Hong Kong and Taiwan. The two markets account for 60 percent of the company's console business in the Asian region. Seno believes the new direction for Sega makes sense because "geographically, these two markets are closer to Japan and have expanded for the past few years".
"Our goal is to raise awareness of Sega [across the rest of Southeast Asia], and it helps that the region's economy is improved," Seno said. "The company sees promise and potential in the market."
According to Seno, the reason Sega hasn't pursued the Southeast Asian market before is due to Seno's own familiarity with the SEA market.
Seno further stated that the Yakuza games (Ryu Ga Gotoku in Japan) and Bayonetta are the most popular titles in the region. The reception for Ryu ga Gotoku of the End, the latest in the former series, is "better than [Sega] expected", with the game "receiving extra orders [of the title]" from local retailers.
Concerning piracy issues in Southeast Asia, Seno said: "The problem is something the first-party companies need to work on together with the local authorities of the region."
He also said that with the increase in income thanks to the Southeast Asia economy, people will start buying original games.
When asked about opening up shop in Southeast Asia, Seno said that Sega will not do so, but will instead focus on looking for the best partners to work with while relying on current ones in the distribution field. Right now, the company is working together with New Era Games and Sony for Xbox 360 and PS3 versions respectively.
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