Random Facts #4: SEGA and the Occupation of Japan

Gotta go Fast!

What does the military have to do with SEGA? Quite a lot actually, at least in the company's early history. SEGA was actually founded in the 1930's Hawaii. With the expansion of the armed forces leading up to World War II, the military leadership began looking for ways to affordably keep large numbers of new recruits entertained. Many training depots and bases were located in remote areas, and keeping men entertained was essential; boredom could wreak havoc on morale and large numbers of young men in one area with nothing to do and lots of training for aggressiveness could lead to any number of problems.

Greatest Generation Indeed

Seeing an opportunity, a group of men in Hawaii founded a company called Standard Games. They made cheap, coin operated games and slot machines which they marketed to military installations and nearby businesses. The military jumped on the idea and soon these machines could be found in military facilities all over Hawaii. After the war, the company split in two: Standard Games continued to make these machines for a civilian market, while a military-focused subsidiary was formed and branded "Service Games" for "Military Service" and the colloquial "service".

Soon new government regulation made marketing their successful slot machines difficult, and to keep up production Service Games opened a branch, Service Games Japan, in Tokyo. Japan had been occupied by American armed forces in the immediate aftermath of World War II, and until 1952 when the occupation officially ended millions of servicemen and women from all branches would rotate through the country. Even after the end of the official occupation, the US military maintained a large presence on the island (especially Okinawa and near Tokyo) which continues to this day.

Douglas MacArthur and the Showa Emperor

MacArthur and later American commanders in Japan were extremely concerned about the behavior of their men in the occupied country (I should note that this concern continues and is growing: the Navy just had to ban all drinking for US forces in Japan due to the criminal activity of American servicemen). The populace was potentially extremely aggressive, and victorious Americans living in what many considered a "conquered" territory could be a disastrous mix; rapes and other sex crimes, theft, assaults, and numerous other crimes were committed by bored and vengeful young Americans.To stem this, the occupation forces command and the Japanese government implemented programs to try to curb these excesses. The Japanese government, from 1945 to 1946, even operated official government-run brothels, termed the "Recreation and Amusement Association," which would cater solely to Americans! By 1946 the occupation command stepped in to shut these establishments down; officially on moral grounds, but in actuality because they led to massive spikes in venereal disease outbreaks.

I wonder how many of our grandpas are in this picture? Ew... 

In the 1950's Service Games began producing their games in Japan to be sold on American installations, and they became a huge success. Before the Korean War young Americans stationed in Japan couldn't find much to keep them entertained; much of Japan continued to be in ruins, the brothels had been officially closed and declared off-limits (this obviously didn't stop many servicemen), sightseeing could only fill so much time, and drinking wasn't appealing to all men all of the time. Military arcades proved to be an excellent solution; they filled the time and emptied pockets of money that may have been spent on gambling, alcohol, and other potentially harmful activities.

I can't imagine this was good for morale or discipline...

Meanwhile, a man named David Rosen was founding his own company. Rosen had been an officer in the Army Air Corps serving in the Pacific during the war, and he had been one of the Americans stationed in Japan at the end of the war. On his retirement in 1952 he decided to stay in Japan; he had come to like the country and saw massive business potential in the rapidly rebuilding nation. He founded a company called Rosen Enterprises, which specialized in selling Japanese art to people living in America, and photo booth shops which the local Japanese needed because of the many photo ID cards required by the new government. By 1957, seeing the success of Service Games, Rosen had shifted his focus to opening arcades across Japan for both the American military and native population. 

SEGA Slot Machine

In America Standard Games was forced to close as regulation increasingly clamped down on gambling, but in Japan Service Games thrived. They re-branded using the Japanese form of their name, Nihon Goraku Bussan, for official purposes but decided on something a bit easier for marketing and PR purposes: SEGA (SErvice GAmes). In the 1960's they merged with Rosen merged his company with SEGA, forming the company we know today. 

Keeping on with the military theme, the first truly successful arcade game for the company was developed by Rosen in 1966, and was called Periscope. The game wasn't really a video game: cardboard ships on an ocean backdrop were moved mechanically while the player used a periscope to target the ships with "torpedoes" made from lines of small lights. It became massively successful in Japan, especially with Navy personnel stationed there, and the next year was released to American arcades. Despite costing 25 cents, a decent sum of money at a time when a Coke was only 10 cents, the game did exceptionally well and is sometimes partially credited with helping to popularize arcades before the advent of modern video games. 

True high definition action

The company was eventually bought out by Gulf and Western and made a subsidiary, but Rosen continued as chairman through the company's golden era before retiring in the 1990ss.

Hopefully you found this as interesting as I did when I stumbled on the basic story earlier this week!