BALLY· BUYS SEGA
TO GET ASTRON BELT
By Mike Shaw
Sega's Rancho Bernardo manufacturing
facility appeared as a symbol of growth
and prosperity when it was completed just
over a year ago.
n what is undoubtedly the most
dramatic occurren"te. of the coin-
op industry shakeout, Gulf +
Western has sold the coin-op video
game interests of Sega Electronics to
Bally Manufacturing.
On Th.~mday, August 25 , Bally
signed a letter of intent to buy Sega
with principals of the San Diego-based
manufacturer and its parent Para-
mount Pictures. Under the agreement,
Bally gets Sega's current inventory of
games, its physical plant and proper-
ties, and a long-term contract for coin-
op video hardware, technology, and
games developed by Sega researchers,
including Astron Belt, a soon-to-be-
released laser disc game which, appar- ·
ently, is the heart of the deal.
"We feel Astron Belt is the best of
the new laser disc games, and our first
efforts will be to ·bring that game to
market," Bally Vice President Jerry
Blumenshine told Play Meter.
Sega has been for sale since early
summer. After a four-month study of
Gulf + Western's properties, Chief
Executive Officer Martin Davis
announced a divestiture program to
dispose of 20 percent of the conglom-
erate's holdings. Davis, who took the
reins of the more than 100 companies
that make up Gulf+ Western when
founder Charles Bluhdorn died of a
heart attack in February, decided
there was "a dim outlook" for the
video industry in general. He decided
that Sega, with sales of $136.3 million
I
PLAY MffiR. October 1, 1983
On test, Astron Belt draws interest from
video game enthusiasts, and subsequently,
from its new owner, Bally Manufacturing.
in }982, had but "a relatively small
share of that."
Sega will retain what it reportedly
wants of its operation- to continue as
a creative entity in the industry, calling
on Paramount for a wealth o·f film
footage. The film is advantageous to
the development of video disc games,
which. are quickly becoming the pre-
dicted future of this industry.
According to Sega Marketing Vice
President Bob Rosenbaum, the com-
pany has three additional games ready
'for its newly christened Laserage
Video System.
Sega will also keep its food and
games operation, . P J Pizzazz. The
contract in no way touches Sega of
Japan.
Sega officials were still in the dark
about their future immediately follow-
ing the sale. Rosenbaum had not
expected Sega to be bought by another
coin-op manufacturer. He said he had
"not heard anything" from Bally about
the future of Sega employees, but that
"a lot of people are getting their
resumes out."
Another Sega source said it was to
be "business as usual" at Sega until
September 9 when sales and customer
service would cease. He estimated it
would take another two months to
sever employees and phase out the
video game manufacturing and mar-
keting divisions.
Rosenbaum said he was surprised
that a company which already has pro-
duction facilities would purchase the
physical properties of Sega-which
include an extensive and new manu-
facturing facility in Rancho Bernardo-
• and agreed with the theory that the
real estate was part of what Bally had
to take to get Astron Belt.
Bally .has taken no position on what
it will do with Sega's plant and per-
sonnel. Blumenshine would only say
that it would take the company some
time to make those decisions.
Neither Bally nor Gulf + Western
would comment on the terms of the
agreement, but both indicated the sale
would be formally completed within a
The final out~after" eight years as an
American video game manufacturer, Sega few days after the letter of intent was
signed.
•
will bow out with Champion Baseball.
9