Sega Sammy speeds up succession plan

The Japanese video game and pachinko giant has named Haruki Satomi as group CEO as it splits its gaming and pachinko business.

Japan.- Sega Sammy has promoted Haruki Satomi to the position of group CEO. His father, company founder Hajime Satomi, has been made president and representative director.

Haruki Satomi was previously company president and group operations director.

See also: Sega Sammy redundancy scheme surpasses expectations.

The news comes as the group announces a restructuring that will see its video games and pachinko businesses split into separate entities.

From April 1, the group will be divided into Sega Group Corporation and Sammy Corporation. Sammy will focus on pachinko, pachislot, and other gambling machines. Sega Group Corporation will cover the company’s video game operations.

Sega Sammy has said that the new structure of the group will be more efficient.

This decision has been taken following a difficult year in which gains on the video games side of the business were erased by plummeting revenues from amusements and resorts.

The pachinko and pachislot machines segment was the worst-affected by the pandemic. In the first quarter of 2020, the division shifted only 485 machines, far from the 18,000 machines sold in the same quarter in 2019.