Sega strategy calls for revival of dormant franchises

As Sega sets its goals for the future, it will be looking for help from its past. In a "Road to 2020" corporate strategy presentation released on its investor relations site today, Sega outlined a strategy for the next three years that will see it revive some of its older series.

With a remit to "create titles that will become global hits," Sega is looking to broaden the number of intellectual properties it relies on. To do that, the company noted plans to revive old franchises, as well as making more use of external IPs and creating new series of its own. More specifically, it said "revival of major IPs" would be a major part of its packaged games strategy in the near future. Additionally, Sega hopes to get the most of the series it does use by bringing them to as many regions and platforms as possible.

Sega has set some ambitious targets for 2020. In the next three years, the company hopes to see its gaming division's revenues up nearly 50% over its most recently completed fiscal year to ¥305 billion ($2.68 billion), with operating income nearly tripling to ¥32 billion ($280 million). Given the timeline of AAA game development, Sega's aspirations for 2020 are already being reflected in the company's balance sheets. It expects to spend ¥51.7 billion ($460 million) on R&D and content production expenses for its gaming division in the current fiscal year, up 7% from the previous year and 37% from the year before that.