Sammy Buys Shares, Angling For Sega Takeover 32
cdneng2 writes "Following failed merger talks earlier this year, it seems like game developer/pachinko giant Sammy has made a bid to acquire 22.4% of Sega shares. Sega's former parent company CSK sold its shares to Sammy, Japan's largest pachinko
machine maker, who also has a game development subsidiary. The article mentions: 'Sega managed to rebuff its most enthusiastic suitors [including Namco, possibly EA, Microsoft] in a determined effort to remain independent', but it
seems their efforts may be failing. The piece also notes: 'Sega officials are believed to have been particularly unhappy about a merger with Sammy due to the shady image of the pachinko industry in Japan'."
Pachinko/Pachislot (Score:5, Informative)
Sammy Pachinko Virtual Tour [sammy.co.jp]
Re:Nintendo? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Already Merged (Score:4, Informative)
Uhm, just kidding. It seems that the 'actually merged' talk going on early this year was actually 'haven't signed the papers yet but we're going to, honest!' - and eventually, they didn't sign the papers [slashdot.org].
Re:Pity about Pachinko's reputation... (Score:3, Informative)
"Officially," Pachinko's a redemption game, like Skee-ball. The skill element is adjusting a dial to determine how far into the playfield individual balls are ejected. A good player can usually look at the wear and pin arrangement to determine which machines are more likely to pay out. (Parlor operators are always hammering and bending the pins to thwart such efforts.)
The "seedy" rep comes from two aspects...