Sega to close Japanese arcades

Japanese holding company Sega Sammy has announced the closure of over a third of its arcades in the territory.

The Tokyo-based gaming giant - formed after a merger between Sega and Sammy Entertainment in 2004 - now manages just one sixth of the number of arcades that Sega owned in 1993, with the global credit crunch blamed for this latest wave of closures.

Arcades have been in decline for over a decade now, with the company announcing plans to close more than 100 of its gaming houses in addition to the 110 that shut down last year.

Analysts have predicted that this may be the beginning of the end for these establishments, after rival companies Taito and Namco Bandai reported similar losses in their arcades division.