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.

D&D & Video Games 1E – They Create Worlds

TCW Podcast Episode 222 – D&D & Video Games 1E   In the first part of this series, we explore the various influences leading to the creation of Dungeons & Dragons. This episode is an edited version of our livestream, delving into the rise in popularity of war games, board games, and miniatures. Avalon Hill, a major company in this field, published The General magazine, which helped players connect for games. Through opponent-wanted ads resembling today’s unmoderated forums and the discovery of games like Kriegsspiel and Stratego, we witness the evolution of elements that would eventually lead to the early role-playing game (RPG).   Livestream 2024 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahP86-2H8lc   Playing at the World – Jon Peterson (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/3YokLZC The Elusive Shift – Jon Peterson (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/3C8cHVq Game Wizards – Jon Peterson (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/48uCtzi Afrika Korps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHOtUG4JvlQ SGS Afrika Korps: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1266640/SGS_Afrika_Korps/ Gettysburg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Cw6nzrPgw The General Magazine: https://www.vftt.co.uk/ah_mags.asp?ProdID=PDF_Gen What is Kriegsspiel?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKVeR4n-u1w Chancellorsville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmJjNI4CO70 Computer Chronicles Revisited: https://www.smoliva.blog/ Strategos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategos_(game) Secrets of Blackmore on Amazon Prime Video (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/4fsUSyA How to Play DIPLOMACY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l53oL0ptt7k Yes Mr Ford: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0-AD3bFjF8 Siege of Bodenburg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Bodenburg   New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!   TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com  Twitter: @tcwpodcast   Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds – Save 30% by signing up through the website and not the iOS App!   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. D&D & Video Games 1E
  2. North to Hellgate London
  3. Diablo 2
  4. Diablo 1
  5. The 100 Games Redux – The Revival

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.

D&D & Video Games 1E – They Create Worlds

TCW Podcast Episode 222 – D&D & Video Games 1E   In the first part of this series, we explore the various influences leading to the creation of Dungeons & Dragons. This episode is an edited version of our livestream, delving into the rise in popularity of war games, board games, and miniatures. Avalon Hill, a major company in this field, published The General magazine, which helped players connect for games. Through opponent-wanted ads resembling today’s unmoderated forums and the discovery of games like Kriegsspiel and Stratego, we witness the evolution of elements that would eventually lead to the early role-playing game (RPG).   Livestream 2024 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahP86-2H8lc   Playing at the World – Jon Peterson (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/3YokLZC The Elusive Shift – Jon Peterson (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/3C8cHVq Game Wizards – Jon Peterson (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/48uCtzi Afrika Korps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHOtUG4JvlQ SGS Afrika Korps: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1266640/SGS_Afrika_Korps/ Gettysburg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7Cw6nzrPgw The General Magazine: https://www.vftt.co.uk/ah_mags.asp?ProdID=PDF_Gen What is Kriegsspiel?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKVeR4n-u1w Chancellorsville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmJjNI4CO70 Computer Chronicles Revisited: https://www.smoliva.blog/ Strategos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategos_(game) Secrets of Blackmore on Amazon Prime Video (Affiliate Link): https://amzn.to/4fsUSyA How to Play DIPLOMACY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l53oL0ptt7k Yes Mr Ford: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0-AD3bFjF8 Siege of Bodenburg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Bodenburg   New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!   TCW Email: feedback@theycreateworlds.com  Twitter: @tcwpodcast   Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theycreateworlds – Save 30% by signing up through the website and not the iOS App!   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. D&D & Video Games 1E
  2. North to Hellgate London
  3. Diablo 2
  4. Diablo 1
  5. The 100 Games Redux – The Revival

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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