Sega hires Euro marketing chief

Sega has appointed Mike Sherlock as European sales and marketing director as the games publisher prepares to return to the computer games market. He will report to European chief executive Naoya Tsurumi.

Sherlock returns to Sega after an 18-month absence. In June 2001, he left his position as UK managing director for Sega Europe to take up a similar post at games distributor Andromeda. Six months later, he became European managing director for publishing at games publisher Acclaim.

There has been much speculation in recent months that Sega is restructuring its European operations and will appoint a new team early next year.

In February 2001, Sega abandoned the games console market after sales of its Dreamcast console lost out to rivals Sony and Nintendo. It has since rebranded itself as a games publisher and signed deals with Sony and Infogrames, which are responsible for marketing and distributing its games titles.

Sherlock’s former employer Acclaim courted controversy recently when it launched video game BMX XXX, which features topless nudity and swearing. The games publisher has since said that it will offer an edited version for the Sony Playstation 2 console.