Sega of America’s president and COO, Bernard Stolar, has left the company in mysterious circumstances, just weeks before the US launch of Sega’s Dreamcast console. Deputy chairman Toshiro Kezuka has replaced him. The company won’t talk about Stolar’s departure, refusing to confirm if he jumped or was pushed. However, Stolar’s departure is bad publicity for the struggling console maker, which desperately needs its new internet-enabled console – which will be launched on September 9 – to be a success. Sega announced a radical restructuring plan after posting a $378m loss for FY98 earlier this year.
Sega says that it has 250,000 to 300,000 pre-sale orders for the Dreamcast and claims that the US launch will be one of the biggest in entertainment history. A spokesperson said that Kezuka was the right man for the job because of his extensive experience of domestic sales in Japan. However, the Dreamcast has not been a success in Japan, as the other console makers – Sony Entertainment Corp and Nintendo Ltd – cut their machines prices to compete with the new games box. The spokesperson said that the problems surrounding the launch of the Dreamcast in Japan were down to the lack of a software library and supply problems with the NEC Corp graphics chip in used in the console. Sega says that these problems have now been rectified.
