SEGA of America names new COO

SEGA of America has named Masanao Maeda as COO for SEGA of America. Maeda has been with SEGA of Japan since 1991, most recently serving as Corporate Director for SEGA’s Consumer Business Division and then Executive Advisor in the Tokyo, Japan headquarters. Maeda will join the SEGA of America team under Mike Hayes who was recently promoted to the position of CEO of SEGA of America and SEGA® Europe Limited. In this role, Mr. Maeda will oversee all of the day-to-day business for SEGA of America including Sales, Marketing, and PD for the US, Canada and Latin America.

Naoya Tsurumi, who was previously the CEO of SEGA of America and SEGA of Europe has now moved to Japan to become the Managing Director, Consumer Business Division. From there he will oversee all video game development for the world, working with Mike Hayes and other international heads of business,

Sega of America names new VP of sales

SEGA of America has named Brad Wildes Senior Vice President of Sales. Wildes brings more than 15 years of management experience in the interactive entertainment industry. In the past he has developed results-driven consumer campaigns for several North American companies including Microsoft Corporation, Mattel, Midway Home Entertainment, and Konami of America.

Wildes will join the senior management team to oversee sales, sales administration and channel marketing for the US, Canada, and Latin America. He will report directly to Mike Hayes, CEO of SEGA Europe and America, and will continue to build on SEGA’s brands such as Sonic and new SEGA IP.
SEGA partnered with Scott Bretschneider and David Musgrove of International Search Partners in La Mesa, California to bring Wildes on board.

Simon Jeffery joins ngmoco

Mobile phone publisher (with a focus on iPhone and iPod Touch games at the moment) ngmoco has named former SEGA of America president and COO Simon Jeffery as its chief publishing officer to helm the company’s new Plus+ Publishing group. The new initiative is focused on signing up and working with partner companies, who will gain access to ngmoco’s publishing framework, including the new Plus+ Network. Plus, as names go, Jeffery is a recognized leader in the interactive entertainment industry, which means an easier time drawing attention to the company and what it is doing.

“I am delighted to join ngmoco,” Jeffery said. “It’s a very exciting time to be shaping a new games landscape with a super-talented team. With Plus+ Publishing we are going to be able to create a system for great developers to plug directly into an incredible, proven publishing framework & network technology to help accelerate their games.”

Simon Jeffery brings 22 years of experience to ngmoco after more than four years as president and COO of SEGA of America, where he oversaw all publishing and product development activities for the publisher. Prior to SEGA, Jeffery was president and COO of LucasArts. Jeffery moved to LucasArts in 1998 after working in a number of marketing, business, and development roles for Virgin Interactive and Electronic Arts, both in the United States and Europe.

Plus+ Publishing will offer an infrastructure for developers to take advantage of ngmoco’s publishing systems, provide access to the Plus+ Network and give custom support to participating partners, according to today’s announcement.

Sega reveals more Aliens vs. Predator details

SEGA of America today revealed more details about Aliens vs. Predator (working title). Developed at Rebellion by the team responsible for the original 1999 PC classic, the all-new Aliens vs. Predator allows players to take the role of all three groups: Colonial Marines, Predators and Aliens. The game will feature a unique three-way online multiplayer experience, allowing players to battle for survival and the right to be crowned the deadliest species in the galaxy. Each race will also have its own distinct single-player campaign mode, with a storyline that interweaves with the other two species’ paths.

Set on planet BG-386; a human colonist mining group discovers an ancient pyramid containing a dark and horrible secret. Across the galaxy, a race of warriors is alerted to the discovery of their pyramid and a hunting party is dispatched to ensure that it remains sealed at all costs. Deep inside the ruined pyramid nature’s deadliest species awakes from centuries of hibernation intent on finding new prey.

The Colonial Marine’s story is an incredible fight against all odds from horrors lurking in the dark. Surrounded on all sides yet armed to the teeth, the Colonial Marine represents humanity’s last stand with the firepower to fight back. As the Alien, players will discover what it’s like to be the scariest, most murderous creature in the universe, with the ability to traverse any surface at lightning speed in order to get close enough to unleash its deadly claws, tail and teeth. A master of the hunt, the Predator grants the player an arsenal of exotic weaponry with which to stalk from the shadows. Earn the greatest honor by ambushing prey up-close, before butchering them for a gory trophy kill.

Aliens vs. Predator is set to be released on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in early 2010.

Sega Keen on Mad World’s Future

According to a Venture Beat interview, Sega’s American arm is pleased with early sales numbers for Mad World, the mature rated and gruesomely violent action game for the Wii. Sega is happy with the brand , despite the game not doing as well as it could have in Europe and the United States.

Sega of America’s vice president of marketing Sean Ratcliffe told VB that the early data on sales is promising and that, if the game resonates with gamers, it could become an established franchise. While this news may sound encouraging to fans of Mad World, it should be noted that most publishers would say the same thing about any game that resonated with fans. If Hello Kitty resonated with fans, then we would expect to see more Hello Kitty games from that publisher.

“I think it’s unique,” Ratcliffe added, “and there are many aspects of that game which are sort of pushing boundaries. And it’s just great fun.”

We wish Sega all the best with Mad World. It’s tough to knock any original intellectual property that tries to do something differently. And if Mad World is anything, it’s certainly worthy of being called “different.”