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Dated November 10, 2020 and addressed to the cream of Microsoft, including CEO Satya Nadella and Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood, the email signed Phil Spencer is a formal request to obtain the green light to begin discussions with Sega. ” We believe Sega has built a well-balanced catalog of games across different segments with global geographic appeal and will help us accelerate Xbox Game Pass both on and off consoles. “, can we read in this email.
Interestingly, we understand that Phil Spencer’s objective was not to buy the entire Sega Sammy group but to negotiate a split to take over only Sega studios, leaving aside Sammy’s slot machines and the tourist segment which Microsoft would not have much to do. ” Sega is the most attractive next acquisition due to its global PC catalog, its mobile presence in Asia and the brand’s global affinity on consoles thanks to its classic licenses “, can we read.
Meanwhile, Sega has even become even more interesting from Microsoft’s point of view since the Japanese group has strengthened its mobile presence in the West with the acquisition of Rovio. That said, a year after this email, Microsoft opened the doors to a much bigger opportunity with the planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
The hedgehog’s dilemma
In fact, we do not know if Sega is still one of Microsoft’s targets to date, especially in the event of failure with Activision Blizzard, but it is certain that the American giant and the Japanese publisher have good relations, as in testifies to the strong presence of Sega in the Game Pass subscription and the frequency of small marketing agreements which mean that titles like Persona 3 Reload and Metaphor ReFantazio are not confirmed on PlayStation, Switch or Steam until several days after the Xbox Games Showcase. Sega was in any case still among Microsoft’s targets in an internal document dated April 2021. And the hedgehog is not the only one: Bungie, IO Interactive, Supergiant Games, Paradox and even Housemarque have also appeared on the short list from Microsoft, as well as Zynga, Scopely, Niantic and Playrix, names which show that the desire to penetrate the mobile market is not new for Microsoft.