Sega IPs freely

[Jess Ragan]

So hey, I just got a copy of Zaxxon for the Atari 5200, and was wondering... how was this release even possible? All the other console versions of the game were by Coleco, suggesting that the company had exclusive home rights to the license. I noticed something similar with Buck Rogers... the ColecoVision version was released by Coleco itself, while both Atari versions were released by Sega.

 

So what happened here? Is the original IP holder exempt from exclusive licensing agreements? Or was the license a little more complicated than that? Early Sega is a complete mystery to me... first, it was owned by some Hawaiian dudes, then it was sold to Paramount (shudder), then it migrated to Bally/Midway, and so on and so forth until it eventually landed in the lap of pachinko manufacturer Sammy. The company was passed around more often than a social disease at a wife swapping party, making it extremely difficult to keep track of the company's history. Hell, it wasn't until the 21st century that I realized that Frogger, the game that defined Sega until the release of Sonic the Hedgehog, was actually a Konami property! It's seriously confusing.

[video game addict]

This has been discussed here in the past, but I don't recall all the details. Maybe in the classic gaming forums? I think for starters the licenses were exclusive to home consoles, and these were first created for the Atari home computer line only. (so they were able to get around the licenses, but not until later were they able to be ported & sold for the 5200.

 

But I forget the exact details.

 

Here's one thread that has some info into Sega's licenses:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...mp;hl=Paramount

[Jess Ragan]

Is it odd that my copy of Zaxxon came with a manual with the Paramount logo printed inside it? It also has a copyright date of 1984, after Paramount sold the company to Bally and CSK. Now I'm even MORE confused than before!

Edited November 20, 2007 by Jess Ragan