Hogwash

SEGA's sadly been on a downward decline ever since it ditched the Dreamcast, and the company will continue to shrink over the coming months as it offers "voluntary retirement" to around 300 employees. It's not yet clear where the firm will be hit the hardest, but SEGA of America has announced plans to relocate from San Francisco to South California over the coming months, as it scales back its retail game operations.

The company's definitely had some packaged success stories in recent years, with Alien: Isolation being its most recent release to cross the one million unit milestone, but it's seeing much bigger returns in the digital games space, and that's where it intends to double down. Apparently, its current release schedule – which includes Yakuza 5 in partnership with Sony, as well as various PC-based titles – will not be affected. Sonic Boom will continue to air on the Cartoon Network, too.

The organisation still expects to make a profit for the current financial year, but it warns that it will be much smaller than the previous year. According to the investors note released by the Japanese giant, it intends to increase margins by focusing on mobile and PC games, while also reviewing its various amusements businesses. To be honest, given the company's output in recent years, this is unlikely to mark a significant change – just give up on Shenmue III, yeah?

[source fs.magicalir.net, via cnbc.com, eurogamer.net, joystiq.com]