Sega released its Q&A for the investors that covers various topics across the company’s business segments, which include plans for more online games made for the West and an MMORPG project for Japan.
Q: Regarding plans for the fiscal year ending March 2020, in the Entertainment Contents Business section it shows a rise in research and development costs, so is it safe to assume this will mostly come from the cost of developing an online game geared for the West and made by a Western development studio?
A: The reason we’ve increased research and development costs for the fiscal year ending March 2020 is because we plan to release multiple new console games (physical). We plan to invest more in online games made for the West. Our studio from England called The Creative Assembly only had about 50 employees at the time of its acquisition (In March 2005), but it has since then grown into one of England’s largest game studios. Because it is essential to earn results in this field, we’ve increased our investment in existing IPs as well as new challenges. Again, as for MMORPGs on PCs, we’ve increased our investment as we’re considering something in the 10 billion yen class, if not a few billion yen class project, for Japan.
Sega mentions “online games” for the West, but keep in mind that this means online games in general, including the strategy game Total War: Three Kingdoms, which was developed by the aforementioned Creative Assembly, and other online multiplayer games. As for the MMORPG, it appears that Sega might be thinking about what’s next, as their current main MMO title Phantasy Star Online 2 has been out for a while now after releasing back in July 2012.
