GMT Sega is looking to the emerging Internet appliance market as a new games platform as the company struggles to make its way in the PlayStation 2 era. The games company today said it has formed a new operation, Sega Access, to develop networked multi-player gaming infrastructure software for Net appliances. The new company is a joint venture with Access, a developer of software for Internet access set-top boxes. Essentially, Sega will supply games development expertise and content.
Access brings embedded application code and middleware to the table.
It's certainly an interesting move, and one that ties in with Sega's shift away from the console business toward software and services sales. The Net appliance market has so far failed to live up to pundits' predictions, but it could one day provide Sega with a broad platform to target with its games and services, in place of the rather more narrow Dreamcast platform. If you want daily updates on news, enter your email address below, then click the 'Join List' button.