Sega sells the rest of its arcades, leaving the business for good

Sega has decided to leave Japan arcades. The company said it was selling the remaining arcades to Genda, Inc., also known as GiGO, and is leaving the coin-op market, where it made its name.

Sega’s first arcade game was PeriscopeThe arcade company was founded in late 1960s and has been an important player in the industry since. Even though arcades all over the world have been in a steady decline over the past 20 years, owing to the ubiquity of console and PC gaming, they’ve kept a fairly major place in Japan’s gaming culture.

However, in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic, even Japan’s arcades started to falter. In late 2020 Sega sold 85% of its shares in the company’s arcades, which are run by the Sega Entertainment division, to Genda. Sega’s remaining shares have been sold to Genda. This is despite the fact that COVID-19 has become more popular and the arcade business remains in trouble.

Sega’s arcades will be renamed GiGO throughout Japan, according to a tweetTakashi Kataoka, chief executive of Genda.