Earlier this month, we all heard the depressing rumor that Sega Europe could be shutting its doors, despite the company’s ongoing relationship with European developer Creative Assembly and their popular Total War series. As with the similarly bleak rumors about the closure of Sega of America, some industry folks quickly came forward and squashed all the hubbub real quick.
Now, a handful of new rumors have bubbled to the surface, and once again, they seem pretty believable. First off, it appears that Sega Europe may be looking for someone else to publish their games in Europe, and that they’ve already let go of most of their sales team in the West London office. The remaining employees will be dealing with the digital side of things.
Also of note is that Sega is apparently struggling to sell boxed product games in Europe, and even Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, one of their best-selling franchises in years, is costing them a bundle because of Nintendo’s Mario license.
With the additional rumor that Sega France’s PR Manager Franck could be leaving the company due to the rampant restructuring, this is only looking worse and worse. I had my doubts before, especially considering how much Creative Assembly still had in their hands, but even I have to admit these rumors all seem very plausible. Cross your fingers and toes, folks–it ain’t looking good.
[Source: NintendoGo and TSSZ]
