A Close Look at SEGA & Parent Company CSK

2023-08-03SaturnDave2 Comments

CategoriesSpotlight

Alex Smith of They Create Worlds, a podcast focused on documenting the video game industry as a whole, has released a two-part series on SEGA and its parent conglomerate, CSK Corporation (Computer Service Kabushiki-Kaisha). The series offers a well-researched and nuanced look at Isao Okawa, the owner of CSK & subsidiary SEGA Enterprises and the ultimate downfall of SEGA during the Dreamcast era.

Part 1 covers the origin of CSK and major players involved, Okawa’s bold move to pivot CSK during uncertain times, the purchase of SEGA from Gulf and Western, the decade-long corporate transition from U.S. company to a traditional Japanese company, and SEGA becoming publicly traded in Japan.

All the Other Home Pongs – They Create Worlds

TCW Podcast Episode 232 – All the Other Home Pongs   The home Pong market of the mid-1970s extended far beyond the big three—Atari, Coleco, and Magnavox. Numerous smaller companies entered the scene, not only in the United States but also across Europe and other parts of the world. As the home gaming industry rapidly evolved, many manufacturers introduced unique systems powered by integrated circuits. The market truly took off with the advent of “Pong-on-a-Chip” technology, which made it possible for virtually anyone to build a Pong console. Combined with affordable manufacturing in the Far East, this innovation drove costs down and helped the market reach new heights.   Rocko's Modern Life – Dracula: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ycpsJOtxx8 TCW 105 – The Big Voice of Magnavox: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-big-voice-of-magnavox/ TCW 106 – The Small Voice of Magnavox: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-small-voice-of-magnavox/ TCW 027 – The Magnavox Patent Lawsuits: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-patent-lawsuits-friday-september-16-2016-1003-am/ TCW 051 – Sons of Pong: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/sons-of-pong/ Overkal: https://prehistoricgaming.com/en/overkal-history/ TCW 165 – Allied Leisure: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/allied-leisure/ Universal Research Laboratory (URL) Video Action Systems: https://www.pong-story.com/url.htm Mike the TV 99.99.99: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt2xW8nh864 Executive Games: https://www.pong-story.com/executivegames.htm First Dimension: https://www.pong-story.com/firstdim.htm Executive Games – Face Off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB-pSaZ1e28 TCW 124 – The Visions of Coleco Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-visions-of-coleco-part-1/ TCW 125 – The Visions of Coleco Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-visions-of-coleco-part-2/ Pong In a Chip: https://www.pong-story.com/gi.htm Videomaster: https://www.pong-story.com/vm.htm Videomaster Home TV Game: https://prehistoricgaming.com/en/videomaster-home-tv-game/ Interton Video 2000: https://www.pong-story.com/v2000.htm AY3-8500 System on a Chip: https://nerdstuffbycole.blogspot.com/2018/09/games-and-field-generation-in-ay-3-8500.html Zanussi: https://www.pong-story.com/zanussi.htm TCW 077 – Invading Taito Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/invading-taito-part-1/ TCW 078 – Invading Taito Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/invading-taito-part-2 APF TV Fun: https://retrogamingconsoles.com/consoles/apf-tv-fun/ APF Fun Demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmIE3k2BGs0 Unisonic Pong Console: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFOkE1_52NA Interton Video 2400: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLCnacjnBOs Videomaster Superscore: https://www.pong-story.com/vm8.htm   New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!   TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com  Twitter: @tcwpodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com Alex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1     Intro Music: Josh Woodward – Airplane Mode –  Music – "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode  Outro Music: RoleMusic – Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love    Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
  1. All the Other Home Pongs
  2. Street Fighter 2
  3. Crafting the World of WarCraft
  4. US Gold
  5. PopCap Games

Part 2 examines the circumstances leading to Okawa’s direct control as CEO of SEGA and the financial difficulties resulting from SEGA’s internal money lending, Okawa’s dream to make CSK and SEGA more network focused and his planned contingencies for potential failure.

All the Other Home Pongs – They Create Worlds

TCW Podcast Episode 232 – All the Other Home Pongs   The home Pong market of the mid-1970s extended far beyond the big three—Atari, Coleco, and Magnavox. Numerous smaller companies entered the scene, not only in the United States but also across Europe and other parts of the world. As the home gaming industry rapidly evolved, many manufacturers introduced unique systems powered by integrated circuits. The market truly took off with the advent of “Pong-on-a-Chip” technology, which made it possible for virtually anyone to build a Pong console. Combined with affordable manufacturing in the Far East, this innovation drove costs down and helped the market reach new heights.   Rocko's Modern Life – Dracula: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ycpsJOtxx8 TCW 105 – The Big Voice of Magnavox: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-big-voice-of-magnavox/ TCW 106 – The Small Voice of Magnavox: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-small-voice-of-magnavox/ TCW 027 – The Magnavox Patent Lawsuits: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-magnavox-patent-lawsuits-friday-september-16-2016-1003-am/ TCW 051 – Sons of Pong: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/sons-of-pong/ Overkal: https://prehistoricgaming.com/en/overkal-history/ TCW 165 – Allied Leisure: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/allied-leisure/ Universal Research Laboratory (URL) Video Action Systems: https://www.pong-story.com/url.htm Mike the TV 99.99.99: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt2xW8nh864 Executive Games: https://www.pong-story.com/executivegames.htm First Dimension: https://www.pong-story.com/firstdim.htm Executive Games – Face Off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB-pSaZ1e28 TCW 124 – The Visions of Coleco Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-visions-of-coleco-part-1/ TCW 125 – The Visions of Coleco Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-visions-of-coleco-part-2/ Pong In a Chip: https://www.pong-story.com/gi.htm Videomaster: https://www.pong-story.com/vm.htm Videomaster Home TV Game: https://prehistoricgaming.com/en/videomaster-home-tv-game/ Interton Video 2000: https://www.pong-story.com/v2000.htm AY3-8500 System on a Chip: https://nerdstuffbycole.blogspot.com/2018/09/games-and-field-generation-in-ay-3-8500.html Zanussi: https://www.pong-story.com/zanussi.htm TCW 077 – Invading Taito Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/invading-taito-part-1/ TCW 078 – Invading Taito Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/invading-taito-part-2 APF TV Fun: https://retrogamingconsoles.com/consoles/apf-tv-fun/ APF Fun Demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmIE3k2BGs0 Unisonic Pong Console: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFOkE1_52NA Interton Video 2400: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLCnacjnBOs Videomaster Superscore: https://www.pong-story.com/vm8.htm   New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!   TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com  Twitter: @tcwpodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com Alex's book, published Dec 2019, is available at CRC Press and at major on-line retailers: http://bit.ly/TCWBOOK1     Intro Music: Josh Woodward – Airplane Mode –  Music – "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode  Outro Music: RoleMusic – Bacterial Love: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love    Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
  1. All the Other Home Pongs
  2. Street Fighter 2
  3. Crafting the World of WarCraft
  4. US Gold
  5. PopCap Games

With Okawa’s passing in 2001, CSK shifted in a financial services direction, and ended up selling their stake in SEGA to Sammy, who then used this leverage to completely buy out SEGA a year later.

Alexander Smith is a reference librarian with a background in history, research, and law who has been delving into the history of the video game industry for over ten years. He has played a crucial role in the preservation of certain documents and artifacts in early video game history and has conducted over 100 oral history interviews with key executives in the evolution of the industry. Currently, he co-hosts a bi-monthly podcast dedicated to the history of the industry (also called “They Create Worlds”) and serves as a researcher and consultant for the Video Game Pioneers Archive oral history project of the Smithsonian Institution.

Smith claims his information is derived from “rare primary sources” including little-studied trade publications, personal papers collections, and oral history interviews with designers and executives, many of whom have never told their stories before.

About the author

SaturnDave

A massive Saturn fan since Christmas '96, Dave is enthusiastic about growing the community and spreading Saturn love and knowledge to fans old and new. Co-founding the SEGA SATURN, SHIRO! podcast back in 2017 and creating the SHIRO! SHOW in 2020, he seeks to create interesting and engaging Saturn-related content for the community. Dave's interests circle around game preservation, and he is a huge fan of game magazines and developer interviews.
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