On September 18, 2013, Sega, a Japanese-based multinational video game company known for franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Total War, has acquired Index Corporations in a 14 billion yen (144 million USD) acquisition. In turn, all intellectual property of Index Corporations now belong to Sega, including the acclaimed Shin Megami Tensei and Etrian Oddssey series produced by the former.
This acquisition is, in my opinion, an attempt by Sega to regain its footing as one of the top video game producing companies internationally. While they are still an influential force in the market, and though their products are still selling well enough that they are increasing both revenue and profits, Sega has been lacking when it comes to well-acclaimed titles, and thus, have been unable to produce the same blockbuster titles that competitors such as Nintendo and Sony have been producing. The upcoming continuation of the Pokemon franchise, Pokemon X & Y, from Nintendo will serve to only widen the gap between the two companies. While Sega’s most well-known franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog, is stagnating, Pokemon is still going very strong, with multiple movies, television series, card games, and toys being made from it. The difference in brand power is wide, and it was a smart idea to take over Index Corporations, to use that company’s intellectual property to branch off into the still-emerging markets of PC and smartphone gaming. More importantly though, it would mean that the company that had created highly acclaimed titles such as Persona 4 and Etrian Oddssey IV would be working for Sega now.
Possessing two franchises that are very popular in Japan and garnering more international interest with every installation would do much to boost Sega’s brand image. Though it may be optimistic to say, this acquisition may be what would be needed by Sega to once again become a producer of the enjoyable, high-quality games that made it a well-known company when it was just a start up.