E3 2002: Sammy Unveils Sammy Studios

Japanese publisher Sammy has announced the launch of its North American expansion, Sammy Studios, which will be a development house based out of San Diego, California. The development and publishing studio houses a group of experienced industry artists. Sammy has expressed that the expansion is in line with its strategy to become a major creator of entertainment content for the Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation 2, and Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance.

Tokyo-based Sammy posted revenue earnings of more than $1 billion last year. The company predicts that it will have a more successful 2002 by expanding upon the Sammy USA operation, which was established in 1988, and focusing on coin-operated arcade machines.

The new studio is headed up by John Rowe, who helped launch SNK's North American presence. In 1986, he cofounded Tradewest, which released such games as Double Dragon, Ikari Warriors, Ironman Stewart's Super Off Road, and John Elway Quarterback. Rowe then moved on to become head of product development at Midway and headed the company's entry into the consumer video game market. Other members of the team include Emmanuel Valdez, lead artist and designer of the Ready 2 Rumble franchise; Farzad Varahramyan, senior production designer of the Oddworld series; Chris Ulm, cofounder of Malibu Comics, the original publisher of Men in Black and UltraForce and creator and assistant director at Oddworld Inhabitants; Dave Wagner, lead programmer on titles including Ready 2 Rumble; and Brian Lowe, producer of NHL Hitz, Shadow Hearts, Gex: Enter the Gecko, and Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

"Sammy recognizes this as a great time to establish a strong industry base that encompasses both the burgeoning consumer video game market and coin-op arcade games," said John Rowe, president of Sammy Studios. "This new studio is intended to significantly grow Sammy's global entertainment business with the development and marketing of titles for all next-generation platforms, as well as explore opportunities in other areas of entertainment."