SEGA Closes the Doors on its Console Division

Once upon a time, there was a little Hedgehog that could. In the brutal console wars of our childhood, Sega Entertainment almost pulled it out, in the end, losing to Nintendo and their slightly more popular systems. The next few decades would not be kind to the once giant publisher, who saw their much-loved-but-not-much-sold Dreamcast signal the death knell for their days as a console developer. Now, they've closed their doors on the idea of even making console games.

Eurogamer is reporting that Sega is moving out of its San Francisco office and asking 300 staff members to accept "voluntary" retirement, as it moves to focus on mobile and PC gaming. Voluntary retirements are usually a precursor to heavily layoffs, which we expect to hear about next. We're told this will not affect any upcoming releases, nor the Sonic Boom cartoon, but the days of seeing that wonderful blue hedgehog on a console are long over.

We're not sure what's next for the company, but we here at the Ace of Geeks thank them for some great childhood memories. Let's all listen to a classic one more time.