Last month, Sega revealed its intent to purchase developer Rovio Entertainment in a deal worth €706 million, which is about $772 million in U.S. currency. The move resulted in a lot of confusion for fans, who felt that the purchase might have made more sense at the height of Angry Birds’ popularity. During an investor Q&A answered by Sega Sammy president and vice-president Haruki Satomi and Koichi Fukazawa, the company revealed that it hopes Rovio’s success with casual gamers will help Sega improve in that same department.
“…Rovio’s titles have been very well received by casual gamers. They own not only Angry Birds, but also a game studio that develops hyper-casual games and thus possesses strengths that our Group does not. Once the acquisition is successfully complete, we expect to be able to obtain such expertise and capabilities.”
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While the mobile game market generates billions of dollars in revenue each year, the reality is that several major video game publishers have struggled to find success with their mobile titles. Rovio’s proven track record in that market clearly made them a compelling purchase for Sega, and shows the company’s dedication to casual gaming. The explanation brings to mind PlayStation’s purchase of Bungie, which was made not to secure the exclusive rights to the Destiny franchise, but instead to get the company’s expertise creating live-service games.
Once the acquisition is completed, it will be interesting to see what impact Rovio will have on Sega’s casual game output. Sega owns a lot of compelling franchises, many of which haven’t gotten a lot of focus over the last few years. When Rovio is fully under the Sega umbrella, we could see some interesting synergy between the two companies. Of course, an Angry Birds/Sega mash-up game would make a lot of sense, and help introduce casual gamers to some of the company’s defunct franchises. For now, Sega fans will have to wait patiently to see what comes next!
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