SEGA will produce games using Microsoft's 'Azure' cloud platform
In every console war, every console maker needs a good adversary: Sony have Naughty Dog, Nintendo had Rare, now Microsoft has SEGA.
Microsoft and SEGA have agreed a strategic alliance that will see the SEGA create games built on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.
Using cloud platforms is a major leap forward for computer game developers, as in simple terms, it allows them to put more stuff in their game using the power of cloud computing, without using their existing memory.
Many games already avail of the technology, such as 'Rainbow Six: Siege', the 'Halo' franchise and more recently, 'Microsoft Flight Simulator'.
The vast amount of data used to generate the maps in 'Microsoft Flight Simulator' would not have been possible with traditional software, so cloud computing picked up the slack and allowed the developers to put photo-realistic maps in their game, without slowing down game performance.
SEGA availing of the technology is a major vote of confidence for the technology, and opens the door for deeper collaboration between SEGA and Microsoft going forward.
A press release issued to the media on Monday read "with the world now more connected than ever following the widespread deployment of 5G and cloud services in recent years, consumers can more easily enjoy high-quality entertainment content at any time. Video games continue to grow as a major medium for gamers globally, with access to a vast range of gaming experiences and communities becoming more diverse and attainable."
"This proposed alliance represents SEGA looking ahead, and by working with Microsoft to anticipate such trends as they accelerate further in future," it read.
Yukio Sugino, President and COO at SEGA Corporation, said: “We are very pleased to announce that we are considering a strategic alliance with Microsoft to help develop SEGA's new “Super Game” initiative as well as build a next-generation game development environment.
"By considering a strategic partnership with Microsoft, we seek to further advance our game development so that our titles can be enjoyed by fans all over the world," he added.
Sarah Bond, CVP at Microsoft Corporation, said: “SEGA has played such an iconic role in the gaming industry and has been a tremendous partner over the years. We look forward to working together as they explore new ways to create unique gaming experiences for the future using Microsoft cloud technologies."
SEGA are among some of the biggest names in gaming, of course launching to fame as the creators of the 'Sonic the Hedgehog games in the early 1990s, along with other classic titles such as the 'Football Manager' games, 'Shenmue' and 'Streets Of Rage'.
More recently, SEGA is less of a developer and more of a publisher, and have published hits such as 'Alien: Isolation', 'Persona 5' and the 'Company Of Heroes' series.