Sega does not press continue, sells Japanese arcade business

Japanese entertainment giant Sega Sammy has parted ways with most of its arcade business, Sega Entertainment.

In a press release on its investor page, the firm revealed it has sold 85.1% of this part of the company to Genda, a Japanese firm that's focused on amusement rental right now but is eying up the arcade sector. Sega Entertainment was comprised of the company's arcade and amusement centres in Japan. Sega Sammy retains a 14.9% stake in Sega Entertainment.

Part of the reason for selling this arm of the business is due to the negative impact the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has had on it. People being forced to stay at home and not socialise with others isn't exactly conducive to arcades and amusement centres being wildly successful is it?

Alongside the sale, Sega Sammy also expects to clock in extraordinary – as in, not normal – losses of ¥20 billion ($191 million) for the financial year ending March 2021. Sega's video games division is not affected by this sale.

Speaking of Sega's video games arm, the company recently celebrated its 60th anniversary by giving away a number of free mini-games inspired by some of its biggest IP including Golden Axe, Yakuza and Endless.

In recent years, Sega has been focusing more on PC in its games business. The firm has brought smash hits like Bayonetta, Vanquish, as well as the Yakuza series, to the platform. The company isn't slowing down, either. Following the success that it saw with the PC version of 2012 PlayStation Vita exclusive Persona 4 Golden, the Japanese firm says it will be "aggressively" porting its games to PC.